2021 Movie Log: February

Soul – Pete Docter (2020

1st: Soul – Pete Docter (2020)
If you are not a Marvel fan (yet another Disney company), the idea of a big-budget, mainstream movie in 2020 is likely depressing. I’m sitting here and I can hardly think of the films I’ve watched over the past few years with a budget over $100 million. There are the handful of Marvel movies I’ve seen, the run of recent Star Wars sequels, and the Fantastic Beasts / Harry Potter extended universe. These movies mostly range from inexplicably terrible (Crimes of Grindelwald, Rise of Skywalker) to good (Black Panther). While there are certainly a few standouts (Rouge One, The Last Jedi), even these can be so broad and homogenous it’s hard to get really excited about them. My point is that it feels like a miracle that a movie like Soul is actually great. Honestly, what Pete Docter is able to do here (as he did with Inside Out) is remarkable. Soul is funny, moving, surprising, and deep. It is, of course, extraordinarily well-executed. How could it not be? I’m sure a team of 100+ people worked on this movie. But it is also a film that feels like it has a distinct and singular voice. I wouldn’t even say I’m the biggest Pixar fan in the world, but it’s clear that they’re able to do something that, for whatever reason, almost all other major franchises and studios won’t: be interesting (The exception to this being their rival animation company, Studio Ghibli). I know I’ve spent most of this review praising what Soul does as a big-budget movie, but I’d also like to take the qualifiers off of it. Soul is flat-out one of the best films I’ve seen in a while. The writing in it is incredible. I love the parallel tension that carries the movie: Joe needing to get back into his body, 22 needing to stay in it. I love the ambition and scope of Docter’s vision. This is a film that successfully tackles the question of what is your life’s purpose. Even the way the film conflates “spark” with “purpose” is remarkable. It’s one of the best 3rd Act complications I can remember. On top of all of that, the movie is a blast! It’s so funny and full of life. I really just loved it, something that is rare for a movie of any size.
Grade: A
Soul – Pete Docter (2020)

4th: Michael Clayton – Tony Gilroy (2007)
I first watched Michael Clayton a few years ago. If I remember correctly, I reviewed it positively but was more measured in my praise than I expected. All I had heard was that this was one of the best films of the 21st Century and that in a year that featured No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Gone Baby Gone, Atonement, and other standouts, that this was arguably the best of the bunch. Now, having rewatched it without these expectations, I think it’s easily one of the best films of the 21st Century. Funny how expectations factor into your reception of things, huh? And for as much as I admire the performances, the score, and Tony Gilroy’s direction here, this is a writer’s movie. In fact, I would argue that it’s one of the best written movies in recent memory. The structure and plotting of Michael Clayton is impeccable. It’s so well set up and dramatically staged, you’d think it was based on a play (minus the car bomb). Parts of it play out like To Kill a Mockingbird or A Few Good Men. What struck me most about it though, is how every single piece of writing seamlessly connects to something else in the film. Ordinarily, having the exposition about the kid’s book would be too on the nose. But when you do it perfectly, like Gilroy does, it’s magnificent. First, you have this book (about a collective dream) which the kid wants to use to connect with his father. Then you have the fact that he makes this connection instead with Arthur, who is trying to connect with anybody about this conspiracy. Finally, you have Arthur use this book (posthumously) to communicate the conspiracy to Michael which only happens because Michael recognizes the book from his son. It’s incredible! I even think things like the media-res beginning, which I normally would dislike, are perfectly executed here. Again, it’s just writing at the highest level.
Grade: A-
Michael Clayton – Tony Gilroy (2007)

6th: Juliet of the Spirits – Federico Fellini (1965)
In a lot of ways, Juliet of the Spirits feels like a fun-house mirror version of 8 1/2. 8 1/2 is a film about an adulterous director working through writer’s block, depression, and whatever else by exploring versions of his past and fantasies of his present. Juliet of the Spirits is about a woman processing her husband’s infidelity by communing with spirits who present her with visions of her past and fantasies of her present. 8 1/2 is in black and white and from the husband’s perspective. Juliet of the Spirits is in color and from the wife’s perspective. I enjoyed a large part of this film almost as much as 8 1/2. Along with La Dolce Vita, this is the most visually stunning Fellini film I’ve seen so far. The colors, of course, go a long way toward that. Watching this film, it’s strange to think that Fellini’s work up until then had been devoid of them. They play such an integral part to the construction of this film. Giulietta Masina is, as always, magnificent. Her face is incredibly expressive. This role, as opposed to La Strada and Nights of Cabiria, unfortunately forces her to mostly be restrained. She is reacting to the spectacle on screen as opposed to inhabiting it. Still, this movie does not work without her. In general, my only complaint would be that the dreams and fantasies in this film feel thin compared to those in 8 1/2, especially as the film nears the 2.5 hour mark. Toward the end I felt myself wishing for one more major development or revelation to tie things together.
Grade: B
Juliet of the Spirits – Federico Fellini (1965)

6th: Mr. Jealousy – Noah Baumbach (1997)
This may be stupid, but after rewatching Kicking and Screaming and Mr. Jealousy, I find myself wishing for Baumbach to return to these types of films. To be clear, the Noah Baumbach that makes films like The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story is a far superior director than the one that made these films. But these early movies are so unbelievably funny to me. That last qualifier is important. The story and humor Baumbach covers in Mr. Jealousy (as in Kicking and Screaming) is hyper-specific. It’s about upper-middle class, pretentious, artistically-inclined young men who are defined by their insecurities. In this movie Lester, the protagonist, is seen with three books. They are: 1. A collection of short stories by another character who is a stand-in for David Foster Wallace. 2. A Baseball Almanac. 3. Gravity’s Rainbow. Talk about feeling represented by a movie! There are certainly issues with this film. The women only feel real because Annabella Sciorra and Marianne Jean-Baptiste are so, so good (It’s really a shame that Sciorra was forced to leave acting. Watching performances like this, she just seems like a movie star.) And as I just said, the scope of the film is incredibly limited. But, if you can move past that, this movie is so funny. I wish there were more films like it.
Grade: B+
Mr. Jealousy – Noah Baumbach (1997)

7th: Shoot the Piano Player – François Truffaut (1960)
The premise of Shoot the Piano Player is brilliant. We follow Charlie / Edouard, a character defined by hyper-passivity, as he is drawn in again and again to conflict. I really love the way that Truffaut unfolds the events of the film. You don’t realize the full scope of what’s happening: the burglary, Edouard’s past, his hesitancy with Lena, until the end of the movie. By the time you’re up to speed, it’s too late. The characters are in a shoot out. I thought Pauline Kael’s piece in her book I Lost it at the Movies was really insightful about this film. Particularly about how Truffaut is blending genres like slapstick, melodrama, and crime to reflect something that feels like life. My only lament is that a lot of the films Truffaut is drawing upon for inspiration are ones I have yet to see.
Grade: B+
Shoot the Piano Player – François Truffaut (1960)

8th: Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell (2020)
I was mildly disappointed through the first two acts of this movie. I didn’t think it was bad by any means, but I was fairly underwhelmed. My main frustration was that for how cool of an idea this story is, it was executed in a way that was frustratingly predictable. For instance, it was obvious as soon as Bo Burnham’s Ryan shows up that the 2nd Act would end with him being implicated in the attack on Cassie’s friend. The other frustration I felt was that this film paints in really broad strokes. I don’t even mean that in terms of the story or the film’s content. I am sure that the depiction of men in this movie is more or less accurate. I mean more that some of the choices that Fennell makes, from the film’s color palette to the music queues, were just jarring to me. However, it is here that I say I was completely wrong. The last act of this movie is not only great, it pays off on everything I was just complaining about. I really feel like the film intentionally kind of lulls along only to knock you out with its ending. It’s phenomenal! Moreover, it’s an ending that I don’t think Fennell could achieve without the tone she sets early on in the film. It reminds me of Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood in terms of how much the ending changed my entire perception of the film. I think that sometimes when you have such a good high-concept idea it can be hard to actually execute a good movie from it. For as radical as this idea sounds (a woman pretending to be drunk to lull rapey men into revealing themselves) you kind of get it in the tag line (see also the final episode of I May Destroy You and the U.S. Girls song, “Velvet 4 Sale” for other examples of this idea). I’m impressed that Fennell was able to turn this into a film that not only executes the idea but transcends it. One final thing! Someone should give Bo Burnham an actual romantic-comedy lead part. He’s so charming!
Grade: B
Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell (2020)

10th: Barking Dogs Never Bite – Bong Joon-ho (2000)
Okay, massive spoiler alert right away: I can’t believe Bong Joon-ho made a movie about actual dog killing. Isn’t that a main rule of cinema? Never actually kill the dog. And here, one of the two main characters literally throws a dog off of a roof. It’s insane! The craziest thing about it all is that this movie fucking rules. It may be my new favorite Bong Joon-ho movie (again with the exception of Parasite). There are very few debut features I can recall that are this assured. The closest comparison I can think of is something like Bottle Rocket. Honestly, I think the only place where this movie falters is in its set-up. It takes about 30-35 minutes for the movie to really start rolling. I probably would have cut the janitor’s expository story about Boiler Kim. But really after this scene, the movie is masterful. It’s startling, well-written, incredibly well-directed, and insanely funny. The midpoint chase and the ending rescue of the dog are two of the best sequences I’ve seen in some time. What a movie!
Grade: A-
Barking Dogs Never Bite – Bong Joon (2000)

12th: Framing Britney Spears – Samantha Stark (2021)
I think this documentary is undoubtedly successful in its goal. I actually was surprised by the breadth of the film. It does a pretty amazing job at highlighting how awfully Spears was treated by the media and the public at large. There’s a couple things working against this being a “great” documentary. One is that it was put together as this case is ongoing. In other words, it’s able to highlight the hypocrisy and general unjustness of the conservatorship but can’t do much beyond that. Two is that because of the nature of the documentary, they can only play like 10 seconds of Spears’s music. My general feeling was that while this was pretty good, the 5-hour version with Spears’s cooperation in like 2030 will be amazing.
Grade: C

13th: Judas and the Black Messiah – Shaka King (2021)
Watching this is the most I’ve missed being in a movie theater through this whole pandemic. It really feels like the type of film I would pay to see multiple times while it was out. I suppose that just means I can stream it again. Which is great, but I do feel like we’re missing out on the experience of seeing this on the big screen in a theater full of people. It feels like a movie that demands that type of screening. Really, what can I say? From a filmmaking standpoint, I don’t know what else you could want? Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield’s perfromances are the reason we have movie stars. They’re utterly captivating. I felt like I could run through a brick wall during Kaluuya’s speeches. On its own, it’s just a brilliant, provocative, and almost flawlessly executed movie. Then you factor in the historical nature of it too. I’ve been spending the past couple of months reading Howard Zinn’s A People’s History…One of the major themes of that book, and especially in the chapters that cover this time period, is how the government works to co-opt revolutions in order to neutralize them. Either that, or they work (semi-) covertly to just execute revolutionary leaders. Which is not the easiest message to convey, especially in a country that refuses to look at history honestly. And yet, I feel like this movie distills this message and presents it as a complete statement in a matter of two hours. It’s really the type of film that reminds me how powerful movies can be.
Grade: A
Judas and the Black Messiah – Shaka King (2021)

20th: Death at a Funeral – Frank Oz (2007)
This reminds me so much of an Altman film. It has the same style, and to a degree, even the same sense of humor. Now that I think of it, it’d really make a nice double feature with Altman’s A Wedding. Like many of Altman’s films too, this is a slow burn. I knew this was one of Gioia’s favorite films so I was really waiting for the film to click. However, I would say it takes about 30-45 minutes for that to happen. The film isn’t bad before this point, but there are so many characters and situations to set up, it’s just not abundantly clear exactly what this film is. But once you hit this point, boy does it start to roll! There is just an insane amount of absurd situations happening right on top of each other. It’s wonderful comedy. The last third of the film, especially, is wickedly funny. It more than makes up for a slow start. 
Grade: B
Death at a Funeral – Frank Oz (2007)

21st: Nomadland – Chloé Zhao (2020)
There was a moment early in Nomadland in which I was afraid that this was going to be more of a news report piece than a great film. Which is something that doesn’t even have to do with the political message of the film, but rather, how Zhao was going to deliver it. I was fearful after an instance of a character speaking bluntly about the economy and the difficulty of landing and keeping a job. I don’t know? I think it happens at an Amazon warehouse too. For that moment, it just felt too on the nose to me. Luckily, any fears I had were misguided. In fact, I think the writing, design, and especially the messaging of this film is what’s so brilliant about it. It is anything but on the nose. There is this amazing balance in the film between our perspective of Fern and the characters she encounters. While Zhao doesn’t give us explicit statements on Fern’s life, we see sentiments mirrored in the lives of the other characters. For instance, many of these characters vocalize their nomadic lives as a positive choice. And yet, we also know that Fern is not in this situation by choice. That she lost her home and that this was the best option she had. You’re left to wonder about the other characters and whether many of them are also just making the best out of it. I love how Zhao mirrors this sentiment specifically in Swankie’s storyline. There are basically three scenes that outline her impending death: when she tells Fern she’s sick, when she sends her a video from her travels, and when the group mourns her. Yet in all of these instances, we see a celebration of Swankie’s life and the things she’s been able to experience on the road. It’s devastating but also incredibly affirming of life. Which is more or less what I thought of the entire film: incredibly sad but overwhelmingly beautiful.  
Grade: B+
Nomadland – Chloé Zhao (2020)

23rd: One Night in Miami – Regina King (2020)
I hate to admit it, but I was a bit skeptical of this film through the first 30 minutes. Through the first act of the film, something just felt off about the portrayal of the four central characters. I think I’m so used to seeing broad characterizations of these men (particularly Cassius Clay and Malcolm X) that it was jarring to see any emotion or detail that ran contrary to what I knew. Through much of the film, for instance, Malcolm X is gentle and unsure of himself. A sharp contrast from the fiery man of conviction that I’m more used to seeing. The same goes for Cassius Clay. Though he’s arrogant, it’s in a young almost innocent way. Again, a far cry from the man we think of in images like this. For a minute, I was nervous that these portrayals were, well, bad. They’re not. In fact, I think these portrayals are brilliantly subversive. To me, it’s what makes the film work. It is a mechanism for us to actually understand these men as people, and not just as the symbols we’re already familiar with. This movie gives us a picture of who these men are when they’re not speaking to white people. They have anxiety, questions, and doubts. They’re four extremely powerful and influential figures, but they’re also human. Aside from the fact that the entire film takes place in one location, it’s not hard to figure out that this was originally a play. It’s phenomenally written. I love the way the film lets us see interactions between each pair of characters without it feeling convoluted or gimmicky. I also love the moments of levity in the film. With any biopic, I get nervous that the film will dull any edges or life from the characters in order to elevate them. Again, what this film does so exceptionally well is show that these characters are actual people. As such, there are jokes, missteps, and all the normal failings of daily life. It’s a wonderfully nuanced film.
Grade: B+
One Night in Miami – Regina King (2020)

24th: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom  – George C. Wolfe (2020)
Another night, another adapted play! I don’t think you can start anywhere but with the performances. Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, in particular, are able to inhabit these characters so fully that you forget that they’re movie stars. It’s an idea I kept coming back to in watching this final performance by Boseman. Almost every role he played, from Jackie Robinson to T’Challa, was incredibly significant and yet he managed to blend into all of them. For being an enormous movie star and actor, he seemed to also be a bit of a chameleon. It’s a tragedy that we won’t see any more performances from him. As for this film, being adapted from an August Wilson play, it’s of course well-written. The tension builds and builds until it explodes. I love the way the story positions the locked cellar door. When Levee finally does break through it, it’s just a narrow alley. There’s no outlet for him. All of his frustration and anger is trapped in this basement and will have to resolve itself there. The only thing I can knock the film for is just that I think it’d work better on stage. The writing centers on these long and powerful monologues. It’s something that doesn’t translate as well on screen where it’s too easy to get distracted.  
Grade: B-
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – George C. Wolfe (2020)

25th: Atlantics – Mati Diop (2019)
This had been on my watchlist pretty much since it came out. Having seen it, I have to say I was way off with my expectations. To be clear, I liked it. But I certainly did not see it becoming a zombie movie halfway through. Which, by the way, I think is a really smart twist. Overall, that’s more or less my impression of the film so far. It’s strange, a bit slow, and subversive. I’m almost still processing exactly what this movie was as opposed to how I feel about it. It strikes me as a film that would be rewarding to watch again. However, there were plenty of things I did admire in a first viewing. When the detective is introduced, for instance, a mirror is present for the entire scene. Later, we’ll see that mirrors are the devices Diop uses to show Souleiman as he inhabits the detective’s body. I also liked how Diop lets the tension of the movie change. For a while, you think it’ll be a conflict between Souleiman and Ada’s husband over Ada, a classic romantic triangle. However, once the mystery aspect of the film commences, Diop just lets this thread drop. Ada’s husband literally leaves without putting up a fight. I’m excited to see what Diop does next. Her direction in the film is really assured. It may just be the connection she has to her, but this film really did remind me of Clare Denis’ work.
Grade: B-
Atlantics – Mati Diop (2019)

27th: Saint Maud – Rose Glass (2019)
I’m glad that I don’t have to give a rating to this film right away (I suppose I don’t have to give a rating to any film at any time, but you get it.) On the one hand, I think it’s a pretty well-made horror movie. It’s visually striking, the performances are compelling, and it has some truly visceral and upsetting sequences. I honestly will never forget the tacks / nails in the shoes. So, what else could you want from a horror film, right? On the other hand, I keep coming back to this thought of “What does this movie have to say?” It’s a tricky question that I’m not really sure is fair. If I were to knock this film for (as I feel) not really having a point of view about anything, what’s to stop me from doing that to dozens of other films. What does The Exorcist have to say about anything? What was Midsommar’s point of view? You see what I mean? Still, aside from the tacks in the shoes moment, there’s not a whole lot that feels exceptional to me about this film. It’s certainly a good movie, but perhaps not a standout one. 
Grade: B-
Saint Maud – Rose Glass (2019)

28th: Skate Kitchen – Crystal Moselle (2018)
I had been meaning to watch this ever since finishing Betty. This is the film that Moselle used to launch that TV show. While the actors and themes are largely the same, the story is different enough that Skate Kitchen is its own distinct thing. And as with Betty, I love what Moselle is able to do here. Whether it’s her direction, the subject matter, or this specific group of actors, I found this movie to be incredibly endearing. For what it’s worth, I do think Betty is a small step up from this movie. Still, there is plenty to like here. I thought the decision to focus on Rachel Vinberg’s Camille was wonderful. She’s able to capture that feeling of joining a new group so beautifully. I’m excited to see what Moselle does next, whether it’s the new season of Betty or an entirely different project. 
Grade: B+
Skate Kitchen – Crystal Moselle (2018)

28th: The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin (2020)
I have to say I did like this movie. I had seen some mixed reviews and I’m curious as to what parts of the movie people didn’t like. My guess would be with the tone, which is understandable. A lot of this film can feel like a version of The West Wing. To that point, the film is actually outright funny in some places. Which, given the subject matter, is certainly a choice that Sorkin is making and maybe doesn’t earn. And even as someone who liked the movie, I don’t think the ending really works. It has all the effects of a grand finale: slow motion, the judge shouting for order, swelling music, but maybe not quite the feeling. Still, I thought this was one of the more enjoyable movies I had watched in a while. Perhaps I’m nostalgic for these types of films. Like I said, I thought the movie was often funny and I quite liked all the perfromances. Gioia made the point that she probably would have liked this a lot more if it weren’t based on a true story. I think that’s totally valid. As just a movie though, I liked it. 
Grade: B
Trial of the Chicago 7, The – Aaron Sorkin