2021 Movie Log: May

1st: Blood Simple – Joel Coen (1984)
For as acclaimed as the Coen brothers are, I think Blood Simple has become vastly underrated. It’s stunning. It’s so confidently made that it’s almost impossible to think of it as a debut. The cinematography and score are just immaculately done. If there’s a knock against the film, it’s that it can drag for a bit. It’s likely the slowest and most serious film the Coens ever made. But the last act would be worth any wait. I had forgotten a lot of the movie by the time I rewatched this. I didn’t forget any of that final sequence.
Grade: A-
Blood Simple – Joel Coen (1984)

1st: Raising Arizona – Joel Coen (1987)
This is the Coen Brothers’ film that’s never fully clicked for me. I think it’s just a bit too slapstick to fully work. That being said, everything in this movie is impeccably done. Almost every shot has a gag in it. And the opening is one of the best in any movie.
Grade: B
Raising Arizona – Joel Coen (1987)

4th: Burn After Reading – Joel & Ethan Coen (2008)
This may be the Coens’ funniest movie. I wish I could construct something with this much conspiracy and stupidity wrapped together. I almost forgot that this film is a story within a story. Hearing JK Simmons try to make sense of these events is incredible. It’s amazing how stacked this cast is. I forgot about half of the actors that make an appearance.
Grade: A-
Burn After Reading – Coens (2008)

7th: A New Leaf  – Elaine May (1971)
Comedy is hard. Elaine May is obviously one of the best to do it. Films like Tootsie and The Birdcage have remained hilarious years after they were made. I did like this film, but I have to admit that I didn’t find it particularly funny. More than anything, I was charmed by the the two lead performances. It’s a pleasant and easy film to watch. But not one I would put with the best of May’s work.
Grade: C+
New Leaf, A – Elaine May (1971)

8th: The Heartbreak Kid – Elaine May (1972)
I thought most of this movie was on par with the best things Elaine May has done. Her daughter, Jeannie Berlin, is particularly great as the spurned wife. I love how despicable Charles Grodin is in the lead role. It’s amazing to watch. The film loses a lot of momentum once it leaves Miami and the main tension is resolved. To be honest, the entire 3rd act didn’t work for me. Still, for the first 80 minutes I think this could be put up with almost any comedy.
Grade: B
Heartbreak Kid, The – Elaine May (1972)

8th: The Boy Downstairs – Sophie Brooks (2017)
I wish movies like this were better. On the one hand, this film does do a lot of good things. The lead performances by Zosia Mamet and Matthew Shear are endearing. I’ve wanted to see both of them in a lead role for some time. Brooks is able to pull that off here. I also think that she has a good eye as a director. There are some really striking shots in this movie. The main problem though is in the film’s storytelling structure. There’s just no point in using the flashbacks. The whole backstory should have been the film. But if Brooks had constructed the film like that, she wouldn’t have her title and the elevator pitch about someone moving into the same building as their ex. It’s especially frustrating because if she just told the story linearly I think it’d be a lot better.
Grade: C
Boy Downstairs, The – Sophie Brooks (2017)

8th: 10 Things I Hate About You – Gil Junger (1999)
My god is Heath Ledger charming. The entire cast of this film is kind of amazing. It’s really the thing that makes the film work. I wish more movies today would take swings like this. I can’t even imagine what a mid-budget, really ambitious, Shakespeare-inspired comedy would look like today. And yes, there are things that don’t work in this movie. But the parts that do work are so much more exciting than 90% of movies today. I guess what I’m really trying to say is that the 90s were a wild time. I miss the sort of half amazing / half insane movies that came out of them.
Grade: B
10 Things I Hate About You – Gil Junger (1999)

9th: Four Weddings and a Funeral – Mike Newell (1994)
My god is Hugh Grant charming. I can see why this film has the legacy it does. It almost feels designed to be rewatched. I particularly loved the ensemble approach to it. You get a sense of this group’s dynamic, but the film is only able to scratch the surface. I think you would pick up new things about the group each time you watched the film. I do think the film has a major flaw though. Andie MacDowell’s character is not likable enough. You kind of have to accept that Hugh Grant is hung up on her because it’s a rom-com. That being said, Hugh Grant more than makes up for any flaw with the film. He’s unbelievably good in this role.
Grade: B
Four Weddings and a Funeral – Mike Newell (1994)

10th: Fast Times at Ridgemont High – Amy Heckerling (1982)
This is a fascinating movie to watch in 2021. On the one hand, it seems destined to have aged badly. It’s a hyper-sexualized high school fantasy movie. Off the bat, we watch the 15-year-old protagonist lose their virginity to a 26-year-old man. On top of that, there’s gratuitous nudity that’s entirely from a male perspective. Obviously, it’s good that Jennifer Jason Leigh and Phoebe Cates were both adults when they made this. But I think there’s something to investigate about the choice to use two beautiful adult women to play hyper-sexualized high schoolers. On the other hand, movies today have basically stopped featuring sex. And sex is obviously a huge part of high school! If you’re going to make a high school movie, you have to involve it. Especially, if it’s a movie that seems to portray an almost fantastical high school like this one. This is all to say that I quite liked this movie and Jennifer Jason Leigh is a star.
Grade: B
Fast Times at Ridgemont High – Amy Heckerling (1982)

11th: The Edge of Seventeen – Kelly Fremon Craig (2016)
Hailee Steinfeld is unbelievable in this movie. On the whole, the film is good. It’s well-directed, it’s mostly well-written. But none of it would work without Steinfeld’s performance at the center of it. It’s a tricky role. Movies like this obviously require their protagonists to be smart, funny, and likable. After all, we have to watch them for two hours. At the same time, it has to be believable that somebody we like this much would be having such a rough time. There are certainly a few places where you have to suspend your disbelief. While this movie is a far more realistic version of high school than others (Fast Times…) it’s not exactly hyper-realistic. But what can I say? I was quite charmed by this movie. It was nice to see Blake Jenner in something besides Everybody Want Some!!. Woody Harrelson is quite endearing. It’s a solid high school movie.
Grade: B
Edge of Seventeen, The – Kelly Fremon Craig (2016)

13th: Emma. – Autumn de Wilde (2020)
I sometimes wonder how to assess a film like this. Everything about it is well-done. Anya Taylor-Joy is incredibly captivating. It is abundantly clear that Autumn de Wilde is a talented photographer. The compositions and general staging of this film are wonderful to look at. I especially like how vibrant and colorful the film is. There isn’t that stilted “period piece” look to it. It feels as fresh and exciting as if everything were modern. And yet…I just could not sink into it. I admired almost everything about it and still felt kind of bored for most of the movie. Perhaps everything was too precisely packaged? Perhaps there wasn’t enough of a hook into this story? In any case, it’s an interesting dilemma. How can a movie this well-made not work? I wish I had more of an answer.
Grade: C+
Emma. – Autumn de Wilde (2020)

14th: The Mitchells vs. The Machines – Mike Rianda (2021)
Pretty delightful. I loved the film’s almost chaotic tone. Specifically, the way it uses animation to employ flashbacks and asides rapidly throughout the movie. Ironically, my only problem with the film is that its narrative can feel a bit generic or predictable. In some places, you get the sense that this is a movie that’s gone through millions of revisions to get everything just right. It can feel like a movie overworked by a corporation as opposed to a unique and singular vision. 
Grade: B+
Mitchells vs The Machines, The – Mike Rianda (2021)

15th: Zama – Lucrecia Martel (2017)
It’s amazing to me that I didn’t know about Lucrecia Martel. I’ve only seen two films by her, but those two films would lead me to believe that she’s one of the best directors working right now. Zama, like La Cienaga, is an unusual, slow-burning, idiosyncratic film. Each film has a subtle, biting humor that sneaks up on you. To be honest, I’d have to rewatch Zama to get a better sense of it. The way Martel moves through its story feels almost surreal. It’s hard to get a sense of what’s happening until thinking about it afterward. 
Grade: B

15th: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (2009)
I was kind of let down by this one. I had always heard that it was really good. After watching The Mitchells vs The Machines, I was quite excited for it. Overall, I think this movie is good, but I wouldn’t say exceptionally so. There are places where it feels uneven. I would have liked one or two more narrative surprises in the story. I will say, this movie is leading me to question The Mitchells vs. The Machines a little bit. That film’s ending pretty much copied this one: a tech-illiterate dad has to upload a kill code for their son/ daughter to save the world. Really? They couldn’t have come up with something else? 
Grade: B-
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – Phil Lord (2009)

18th: Midnight Run – Martin Brest (1988)
One of the best “mainstream” movies I can think of. Almost everything about it is right down the middle. The script follows the beats of a traditional feature to a T. There isn’t anything in this film that’s really risky or subversive. And yet, it’s so good. It works perfectly within its construct. It knows exactly what type of movie it is. There aren’t really any moments to over-dramatize the stakes of what’s happening. One of my favorite parts is how cutthroat Jack remains throughout the whole movie. I think a lesser movie would have really engineered his dilemma at the end of the 2nd act. Instead, he’s the same bitter, sarcastic character as ever. One last thing I’ll say is that I love the scope of the movie. They make it look much easier than it is to have so many moving parts. This movie subtly has about 10 key characters. That they’re all well-written and well-cast makes all the difference. 
Grade: B+
Midnight Run – Martin Brest (1988)

19th: Hell or High Water – David Mackenzie (2016)
Everything is pretty well-done in this movie. It has a tight plot. The heist is small enough where it’s believable they could pull it off. Jeff Bridges is even kind of endearing despite playing a racist cop. But I have to say, this film did not click with me at all. For one thing, it was so obvious that both the brother and the deputy would die. I also suspect that westerns just don’t appeal that much to me. I really can’t believe this was a best picture nominee. Well actually, I totally can. It’s technically excellent and substantively empty. About par for the course for the Oscars. 
Grade: C
Hell or High Water – David Mackenzie (2016) 

20th: Romancing the Stone – Robert Zemeckis (1984)
What a weird fucking movie. Both Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas’ characters are so weird. I obviously know there’d be a romance in the movie, but I couldn’t believe it was with these two characters. I really admire how silly the film is willing to be. It’s refreshing considering how self-serious most movies are today. 
Grade: B-
Romancing the Stone – Robert Zemeckis (1984)

21st: Say Anything – Cameron Crowe (1989)
I kind of loved this. There are a million things that I think don’t work. Cameron Crowe clearly doesn’t understand high school. This should just be a post-college movie. They also don’t really give enough for the Diane character to be on Lloyd’s level. But goddamn is John Cusack charming. It’s really all you need. And because of it, the movie totally works. It makes me think that our generation is really missing movie stars. 
Grade: B+
Say Anything – Cameron Crowe (1989)