341. Transporter 2 (2005) - December 10th
At least this time the movie goes all-in on the insane action. No longer any semblance of trying to be serious, the movie is free to pursue whatever silly destructive action it may choose, and as such it's an improvement over its predecessor. This is perfectly decent and disposable action fare, not concerned with believability or trying to be cool and instead letting the sheer bombast of every scene be enough. Statham needs a quick way of removing a bomb from the bottom of his car? Of course he's going to to drive up a ramp and flip his car mid-air to knock the bomb off using a crane hook, only to let the bomb's explosion flip the car back over and land safely. What I love as a final touch to hammer home the campy nature of this sequel, is the use of the previous film's pseudo-antagonist detective as Statham's new best friend and comedy sidekick. It's just one irreverent reference more to make this whole movie feel comfortably fun. Jason Statham's accent is still unfortunately not his own, but i guess we can't have everything. - 6.5/10
342. Transporter 3 (2008) - December 10th
The zany tone of the predecessor is somewhat maintained, but the action here is no longer as inventive or energetic, so we're left with something that doesn't try as hard as either of its predecssors, keeping sliver of my respect by not attempting to take itself seriously, but also losing my interest by not being as exciting. Of course, I still managed to get a kick out of it now and then, and the bad accent was nearly entirely dropped, so I don't mind this overall. - 5.5/10
343. Eighth Grade (2018) - December 11th
This movie is painfully real. It captures youthful anxiety and naivete in a truly unique way, treating the emotions associated with social awkwardness and self-loathing similarly to a horror movie, the reflections upon and growth beyond the terrors of this transitional time in life providing such an honest grasp upon what life is at that age. From the simple attention-seeking actions of teenagers as they socialise being treated as horrifying to look upon, to the sheer lack of understanding and slow disgust that comes with growing up as an example of the length to which people will go when seeking attention and validation, and a criticism of the way society handles the very things that teenagers will seek out themselves if refused. There is nothing in this movie (and indeed almost any movie about this subject) more poignant than Kayla's interactions with an older boy, first in her rejection of his advances when she can't handle them and then in her apology for her lack of readiness, and finally in his response to her rejection. It's a recognition of the dual problem within the experience of growing up, both being expected to understand and not being equipped to do so, and laid in front of such a personally humiliating experiences. It's such a heart-breaking scene, and I'm so thankful that writer-director Bo Burnham had the perspective to remind the audience that life goes beyond moments like these and that we can grow despite how crippling they may seem. This is incredible. - 9/10
344. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) - December 12th
It's a shame this came out so soon after the previous Jungle Book movie, because this darker interpretation of events will understandbly draw comparisons to Favreau's own positive yet pointed style, and this has its own issues with pacing and tone, which only add to that discussion. Some stuff in this interpretation of the story is cleaner in theory but more convoluted in practice, such as having the monkeys simply work for Shere Khan instead of an unnecessary additional antagonist like King Louie, but any expression of why that is would run counter to the nature of the monkeys as a force in the narrative, their own existence originally another point of Mowgli's own personal battle with responsibility. Other stuff fits a little better: adding Tabaqui back in to the narrative makes Shere Khan's presence felt when he cannot be around, and it also ends up allowing for the best line in the entire movie ("Sometime I dream I'm a tiger, but I always wake up a hyena"), and making Kaa a protagonist makes her wider, mesmerising perspective more directly related to the film's overall conflict. At the same time, all of this is expressed quickly and messily, so that it can add some of the lesser known story from The Jungle Book and take a much darker turn than expected, something that does manage to hit a little, but is cast aside too quickly, like so much else in this movie. At least here the effects are what you'd expect from a movie directed by Andy Serkis, offering an incredibly realistic and slightly uncanny presentation of the iconic animals, which when combined with the good performances of the voice cast, was enough for this movie to be at least worth the time. - 6/10
345. A Simple Favour (2018) - December 13th
This was fun, sexy, pulpy melodrama, with some silly twists and action moments that don't always get the elements of bitchy suburban life and taut murder thriller to mix properly, but always manages to be entertaining in its attempts to do so. Lively and Kendrick both offer talented character performances, playing to their strengths and keeping the movie's pace brisk in the moment, while Director Feig never lets the movie overstay its welcome moving from scene to scene. It's silly in its complexity and never drags as it gets a little crazy with it, making the experience certainly a worthwhile one. - 7/10
346. Bodied (2017) - December 13th
This movie was outrageous, irreverent, and surprisingly nuanced. The movie's satire is often biting, and sometimes muddied by the difficult balance of keeping you invested in the main character while pointing out his unlikable attributes as often as possible, wanting you to recognise his lack of self-awareness and why his actions create the reactions that they do and still show the aspects of hypocrisy built in to the reactions of people with an outside perspective. The film manages to allow different ideas about racism surface while also pointing out, through allowing these differences to share the same space, that taking such sweeping attitudes, especially when you exist outside the experience to which you are expressing those attitudes, is inherently ineffective in addressing the breadth of the issue, as so many sweeping statements shown alongside each other also highlights how limited they are. What's more, the film manages to show a diverse set of perspectives both inside and outside the culture that it satirises, seeking to respect or mock with equal tenacity: the moment two minorities within the culture use their platform to express self-deprecation as a means of highlighting how old hat the particular brand of insult thrown their way is and show just how much better they are by way of being so much more aware of their own place in said culture is one of the most effective expressions of theme within the scope of a movie's style I've seen this year. On top of all this, the film spits so much fire in its rap battles that I'm fairly certain I died a few times just by proximity to the brutality of the verbal murders that happened on-screen. The has impeccable dialogue, brimming with wit and style, and it's further supported by the visualisation of those sorts of moments, the cute little twists and obnoxious camera shakes, that aren't necessary, but make the experience that much cheekier. The film is a raw and hilarious experience. - 8/10
347. Candyman (1992) - December 14th
It's weird to see a slasher horror with such an effective psychological element, but here we are. The strange mixture of gaslighting from the Candyman himself and way the film addresses folklore makes this an intriguing and dizzying if sometimes convoluted gore-fest. Tony Todd's performance as the titular character is near iconic, a monster who can intimidate or chill to the bone with a word as much as his sheer presence, so while this movie drags on occasion as it tries to toy with the mind of the audience in increasingly messy ways, the film still manages to wow through the power of its most important role. - 6.5/10
348. 8 Mile (2002) - December 14th
This earns a few extra points for its music and the surprisingly raw performance from Eminem, and is otherwise a decent version of a well known story structure with enough verbal fire spit that I could re-watch this movie for the last twenty minutes alone. - 8/10
349. Life Itself (2018) - December 15th
It's a shame this movie turned out the way it did, because it's so saccharin and overtly positive in a way that doesn't feel completely disingenuous, but the delivery is a tonal nightmare that doesn't develop anything well enough to really feel what's happening on-screen, and without that emotional investment the events of the film are too crazy and coincidental to be taken seriously. I get what the film was going for in the first segment, the tonal dissonance of a death first being used for shock comedy that then reveals itself as a means of coping with something life-shattering, and Oscar Isaac's performance almost sells me on it, but every segment that follows is shorter than the last, and with less time to get to know the characters there's less time to care about what happens to them. This might have worked, but the stories are character-driven, and when there's no reason to care for them beyond the tragedy with which they are defined, and when the actions of the characters feel increasingly alien from normal human behaviour, the film goes from potentially moving to unintentionally hilarious. It's the film's ongoing and fundamental flaw, the disconnect between how the film wants us to feel and how it goes about making us feel things. - 3.5/10
Re-watches
68. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - December 16th
This is one of the best movies of last year, with a detailed and sprawling tragic story, incredibly restrained performances and haunting music, but the thing that will always stand out to me in this film is the "digital threesome", which manages to perfectly encapsulate the pain and loneliness of the characters, and hammering home the themes of life and identity, while also being one of the most incredible visual phenomena of the past decade. The fact that it then leads to more pain and loss before ending on one of the most soul-crushing notes of a character arc in the revelation of the unreality of K and Joi's relationship, something that's been stated from the start but also challenged through the chemistry and gripping performances of both Gosling and de Armas. I love this film for what it manages to do with the themes and ideas of the original, building upon them while provoking change, making it a better movie and being made better by it in the process. This is a shining neon example of what a sequel should be. - 8.5/10
Published December 17th, 2018
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