285. The Garden of Words (2013) - October 15th
This movie was animated more beautifully than real life. This could have been little more than a tech demo and it would've been one of the best things I've watched all year, but stacked on top of this work of art it a weird but heartwarming story of loneliness and the connections we make in the hardest times. It's simple, but emotionally rich, and the odd nature of the friendship between the two main characters is made that much more interesting when the reason it formed to begin with comes back around. Between the music and the art work, I feel like I could watch this all day, although the complicated perspective I have on the characters' friendship is something I'll have to reconcile first. - 8.5/10
286. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - October 15th
Apparently Welles' version of this film was much longer, which makes sense because really does feel like a truly fantastic movie that's had its guts pulled out, leaving only an excellent one. It's still a layered melodrama with Welles' distinct style and performances from some of the greats of the time like Joseph Cotten, but I can't help but feel as anyone would at hearing that this movie has been ripped apart, a certain lament about what could have been. - 8.5/10
287. Enemy (2013) - October 17th
Villenueve gets really weird with this one, and I kind of love it. It's broad enough of an idea to be open to interpretation (though, upon first watch, I like Gyllenhaal's interpretation the most), with enough absurdist points that the ending makes as much sense as it done make none. It's slow, it's uncomfortable, it's transfixing, it's Villenueve does Lynch. - 7.5/10
288. The Philadelphia Story (1940) - October 19th
Classic comedies are 50/50 for me: Either I get them immediately and they're the funniest thing ever (see Some Like It Hot, Dr. Strangelove or Duck Soup) or the comedy exists in a state that I either don't get or for whatever reason don't find particularly funny (His Girl Friday, The Producers, or this). Far be it from me to call this unfunny; humour is incredibly subjective and this has been added to the annals of classic comedy for a reason, but whether it be my state of mind or me missing the context of the jokes, a lot of them didn't land for me. This is still a movie that contains both Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart, which puts it well above most, but it's a great film by star power and reputation for me, as opposed to something that really resonated with me on a personal level. Still, I don't define greatness. - 8.5/10
289. A Star is Born (2018) - October 23rd
I didn't feel this one on a personal level, but it's still an excellently made film that deserves recognition. Most of the emotion that could have been wrought from me by this had already been done prior by the three previous versions (okay, only really the second one), with only a scene with Sam Elliot shedding manly tears doing anything to elicit something new from me. The music is absolutely wonderful, with a clear distinction between its ideas of what makes things real and what fails to, and phenomenal talent at work to make each track carry so much emotion. The performances are almost as noteworthy; films like these live or die on the chemistry of their leads, and Gaga and Cooper have it in spades, with a real attention drawn to every slow, deliberate romantic motion each one makes and the strength to live in moments where the characters destroy themselves and each other. Aside from a few moments to hilarious to be intentional given their context, this film was great from start to finish, even if it wasn't something that appealed to me personally. - 8/10
290. The First Purge (2018) - October 24th
The politics are clumsy and the performances aren't good enough to make the hammy dialogue work, but despite having as much nuance as my overtired brain on a Sunday evening, the race angle and the recognition of a system that has caused drug dealers to be seen as heroes of the community are interesting enough ideas on their own to make this film worth watching. It's not great, but it's as angry as it is awkward. Combine that with a surprisingly fantastic final act that sees the director's choreography of violence take centre stage, and you have a halfway decent action-horror that almost manages to make a legitimate point during all the carnage. - 5/10
Re-watches
59. Blade Runner (1982) - October 20th
This is the sort of film that gets better on re-watches. The first time I saw this I was completely underwhelmed despite the fact that this was the movie that essentially started the cyberpunk aesthetic; I was put off by the unlikable Deckard (culminating in still the worst scene in the movie, whose thematic potential doesn't really justify its existence when you consider its outcome) and the strange pacing of the film that felt as if it just fell from one beat to the next. The second time, however, was a much stronger viewing for me, as I got much more focused on the themes and the look and the damn near perfect music that really highlights the marriage of sci-fi and noir that makes up this film's entire approach to existence. My appreciation for this film was only furthered by its sequel, whose existence was not only furthered by this but also furthered this in the process. The third time around, problems with it aside, I fully appreciate this film's contribution to sci-fi and am more readily comfortable with the film's pace, which makes it much easier to ignore how little I care for Deckard and focus on all of the replicants, each of whom are interesting in their own ways as they all add up to a lot of suggestions about the way the world works while reinforcing the film's biggest themes about what it means to be human. Not quite Ridley Scott's master work (Alien exists, after all), but this has a legacy for a reason. - 8.5/10
60. Aliens (1986) - October 22nd
This is one of the best movies of all time, and one of my favourite pick-me-ups when the situation calls for it. Ripley's arc in this film, defining her not just by her womanhood, but by her motherhood, is so fantastically interwoven into the backbone of one of the most action-y of action movies ever, and the combination of the two ideas it so unbelievably perfect for how well it represents her character. Cameron's action always builds and cascades so perfectly, with one piece of incredibly personal tension flowing straight in to the next as easily as breathing, something that's hard to remember to do during that whole last sequence of events from the moment the Xenomorphs make their final assault to the escape from the planet, with not a single second wasted and a culmination of everything that has defined Ripley's character over this film and the last, only to do so all over again after barely a moment's rest and letting Ripley utter one of the most iconic lines in cinema history. What makes it all work so well is that Ripley's emphasised femininity, something that was largely left out of focus during the first Alien, ends up complementing the insane action perfectly, offering a tenderness in the quieter beats that peaks when Newt calls her 'mommy' and absolutely breaks your heart. This film is a perfect piece of pure action with a hell of a lot of heart and subtext to it, all of which I wish I had the time to talk about here, because everything from Ripley's 'birthing' dream to her interactions with Bishop to the Queen womb explosion are layered enough to be worth discussion. - 10 out of freaking 10.
61. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) - October 24th
Also known as Walk Hard meets Hot Rod. This is actually pretty consistently funny, if never quite as laugh out loud as either of the other two, with all of its jokes landing a few years too late, and not a lot of comedic flair outside of its satire. Something like Hot Rod could get away with being everything from satirical to surreal, and Walk Hard did all the same sort of stuff almost a decade earlier, so nothing about Popstar really stands out, but it approaches everything it does with a real joy that makes it pleasant regardless of how obnoxious it gets; it's the Andy Samberg Effect. A lot of the film's comedy tries to toe the line between in-your-face and clever while usually falling on the side of the former, but it does so with enough gusto that you don't mind. - 6.5/10
62. 22 Jump Street (2014) - October 24th
This, on the other hand, toes the line between obnoxious and clever perfectly. A lot of the story beats are made plain as day and the metaphors are all cheesy and obvious, but at the best of times it's layered enough to be absolutely hilarious. I will never not laugh myself silly at the 'Red Herring' joke; it's the perfect example of this film's best comedy, at once so obvious that it's literally in your face, but also so unexpected as a comedy beat that it ends up working on two levels. Between that sort of stuff and everything involving Schmidt banging the Captain's daughter, this is one of my favourite comedies of the last few years. - 7.5/10
63. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - October 27th
It's a shame Star Wars peaked nearly forty years ago, but at least they've gotten close to this point recently. Still, for the foreseeable future, this is the best Star Wars movie of all time. The cheesy dialogue, the goofy comedy, the pulpy sci-fi and the palpable drama are all here in their best forms, with a slightly muted feel that stops any one aspect of the film becoming overbearing and allowing each aspect to shine in their own way, flowing well in to one another consistently. For fans, the development of the philosophy of the Jedi and the meaning, power, and application of the Force was all golden, with the realisation that belief is what is most needed in the use of the Force being one of the most intriguing developments of the the film series' perspective on its own little Deus ex Machina, quite literally accounting for the idea that anyone can have that sort of power, and that training is actually about understanding and discipline, rather than power. It reinforces the constant dichotomy of light and dark, and it gets all the more real with every piece of wisdom Yoda spouts. "Do or do not, there is no try" and ("I don't believe it") "That is why you fail" are still the two most poignant lines the series has stated in its entire existence, all wrapped up in Yoda's little lesson about how lifting an X-Wing is no different to lifting a rock, because belief that you can do it is what matters most. I love this film, it's inspiring and adventurous, and even after all of the exhilarating fun it has, it still never forgets to remind you of how dire the situation is, culminating in the devastating and most iconic twist in all of cinema. This is yet another classic that has gotten me through these past couple of weeks. - 9/10
Published October 29th, 2018
No comments:
Post a Comment