Month: January 2021

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 12

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

Fun aside, if you’ve been routinely following my posts these two weeks you may have noticed a slight change today. I took the plunge and bought the domain, so as of today there’s no longer a .wordpress as part of the URL. Anyway, after yesterday’s much needed viewing diversion, I’m back to watching a 2020 film, but after today I’m artificially cutting it off. Tomorrow I’ll start working on my year end list with the hopes of getting it published by week’s end.

Driveways (2020, Dir. Andrew Ahn)

Film Review: Driveways (NZIFF 2020) | The 13th Floor

The last film I decided to watch before finalizing my list was one that wasn’t even on my radar 2 days ago, but critic who’s opinion I respect a lot, Marya Gates, listed it as her favorite film of the year so I had to check it out. I’m really glad that I watched this movie. It’s a small and quite film that I likely would have never known about had it not been for this endorsement. Small personal pieces like this are too often forgotten if an A24 or Annapurna or the like don’t pick it up. While it won’t top my year end list, it will be in definite contention to make the list.

The film itself is slight yet personal. Kathy (Hong Chau) is a single mother. She and her son Cody (Lucas Jaye) are traveling to clean out Kathy’s deceased, hoarder sister’s house. While there, the pair befriend the Korean War vet Del (Brian Dennehy) who lives next door. And that’s what I mean when I say slight. Director Andrew Ahn understands that the film doesn’t need to be aggressively packed with drama. Merely reflecting life is more than enough.

The mother son dynamic between the two leads is what allows the film to work as beautifully as it does. Initially, the relationship between the two is coded in a somewhat negative light. He is on a tablet constantly while she works with her headphones on (she’s a medical transcriptionist so they are required by her work). It quickly becomes clear that their actual relationship is anything but contentious; they are just stuck in a rough situation. The two actors have wonderful chemistry together perfectly playing the mother/son combo who are also best friends. Their time shared on screen is so precise that it allows the otherwise minor film to reach for greatness.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 11

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

I still have a handful of 2020 films I want to watch, and I was planning on watching at least one today, but sometimes life changes plans for you. Much of my afternoon instead of watching a new movie, was spent huddled away from screens with a severe panic attack. After a couple hours of crying, I needed a film that would feel more like a hug than anything else.

The Gleaners and I (2000, Dir. Agnès Varda)

SPOTLIGHT: Agnès Varda: The Gleaners and I

Settled on the couch with a bunch of blankets and two cats covering me, though ironically not my cat Varda named for the director, I turned on the largest blind spot I have from one of my all-time favorite directors The Gleaners and I. I have infinite I could say about Agnès Varda, and I’m sure that I will say quite a lot over this year (her complete works is the blu-ray box set I was alluding to in yesterday’s post).

For today between the residuals of the panic attack, and in service of having more to say when I watch future Varda films, I want to just touch on what she does that makes her arguable the greatest documentary filmmaker of all time. When she picks a topic on which to make a film, she doesn’t just tell the story of the topic. Instead, she tells the story of her learning about the topic. By injecting herself into the topic, she prevents a story on food waste from becoming dry or preachy. Her personality and love for other humans is capable of elevating anything. It’s just such a joy to have her behind the camera.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 10

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

Today is a continuation of frantically watching the 2020 films I missed during the lost year in hopes of putting a year end list out soon, but on the bright side, I’m getting close to the end of my list. Don’t get me wrong, most of the movies I’ve been watching are good to excellent, but variety is the spice of life and I especially can’t wait to dive into a criterion box set I picked up around the holidays (going to build the suspense on what it is for now). For now though, here are the films still on my list.

Beanpole (2020, Dir. Kantemir Balagovb)

Review | Beanpole - The Santa Barbara Independent

Something that I’ve always loved about Russian films is how they are able to utilize the cold, harsh climate as a driving force against and contrast to livid characters. While not focusing so much on the treacherous weather as a foil, Beanpole instead uses the backdrop of post war Leningrad to emphasize the hardships of its characters. The two first time actors Viktoria Miroshnichenko as Iya and Vasilisa Perelygina as Masha are perfect fits for the film. They beautifully manage to balance the desperation that their situation warrants with the wants and needs that keep the two of them fighting. Miroshnichenko in particular expresses so much through her non-verbal communication allowing moments of uncomfortableness to linger uninterrupted.

I want to call special attention to the combination of costuming, set direction, and lighting that make Beanpole stand out. Costumes and sets rely heavily on reds and greens. This when combined with the heavily yellow tinted lighting, causing the illusion of everything being light by firelight lit, creates some of the most gorgeous shades of green and warmest reds in the women’s clothes and home. These beautiful hues contrast with the well-worn and dilapidated qualities of the clothing and wallpaper to emphasis the women’s attempts to make the best that they can with the awful situation upon which they’ve been thrust.

As Beanpole was well over two hours, I only watched one more film today, but it was the biggest one on my list.

Nomadland (2020, Dir. Chloé Zhao)

TIFF 2020: 'Nomadland' Review – 812filmReviews

I swear I’m someone capable of my own thoughts, but sometimes the consensus is just right, and Nomadland the National Association of Film Critics best picture of 2020 is just that. Frances McDormand gives a career best performance and seems likely to join the elite class of actors with three or more Oscars. I have so much that I want to say about Nomadland, that instead of putting much down here, I want to give it a re-watch and take my time on something longer. What matters is that Chloé Zhao created a perfect film, and watching it was the perfect end to my weekend.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 9

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

After a long week, both because of the news and work, I needed today to be a relaxing one. I can’t think of a better way to relax than a movie marathon, so short introduction today while I jump into the movies I watched.

David Byrne’s American Utopia (2020, Dir. Spike Lee)

American Utopia Tickets | New York | TodayTix

I don’t think I’m being especially controversial when I say that Stop Making Sense (1984, Dir. Jonathan Demme) is the greatest concert film of all time. All this is to say that Spike Lee had a lot to live up to when making a new concert film with Talking Heads’s front man David Byrne. Byrne at 68 is no longer the young man he was in the 80s, but he has learned how to work with that. Instead of capturing a concert, American Utopia is closer to a recorded theater performance. While still mostly music focused, this distinct change allows the film focus more on a narrative and helps differentiate the film from the classic.

15 minutes in the band starts playing the instrumentals for ‘This Must Be the Place’ to the crowd’s excitement, and when Byrne starts singing the audience is instantly transported back to Stop Making Sense performance. 36 years later Byrne is still one of the most enigmatic musical artists, and his unique vision permeates the performance. Throughout the performance, Byrne sprinkles in talking heads classis as though he is conscious of the masterpiece people expect from the now solo Byrne. While these moments do feel like an attempt to regain the glory of the earlier film, they also serve the current film’s goal of creating a perfectly joyous musical experience. While it may not be the greatest concert film of all time, Spike Lee and David Byrne make a film that can stand by Byrne’s earlier masterpiece without any reservations.

After one Spike Lee Joint, it only made sense that my next movie be the other 2020 Spike Lee Joint on my list.

Da 5 Bloods (2020, Dir. Spike Lee)

Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods is a hard watch, but an easy Netflix recommendation | Ars Technica

Same director, same year, very different mood. A dark look at the tortures of war and the US government, Da 5 Bloods depicts those horrors through the journey of four black Vietnam War veterans returning to the country years later to find the body of their friend and millions of dollars of gold they left buried. I loved the first half of this movie. Each man had to reconcile the Vietnam of today with that of the 60s, and conversely realize how little their home country changed, with Tr*mp being essentially the same leader as Nixon.

Then at the halfway point, the movie turned into a Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, Dir. John Huston) knockoff and it lost me. And when I say it turned into a knockoff, I mean he literally had a character show up and say “We don’t need no stinking badges” type of knockoff. Certainly, a fine movie still, but one that lost its message halfway through.

After the two Spike Lee films, I finished my day’s viewings off with something completely different.

The Other Lamb (2020, Dir. Malgorzata Szumowska)

The Other Lamb movie review & film summary (2020) | Roger Ebert

Another slow burn horror film as has been a staple of my first week of 2021, Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska’s film The Other Lamb stands in a stark contrast to the more flamboyant films I began my day with. With very sparse dialogue, the film relies primarily on stark imagery, much of it extremely graphic, to tell its story. Rare is a movie so precise with its actions and tone that it left me feeling the harsh weather on screen. I twice had to pause the film to put on more layers because of the sympathy chills. A starkly beautiful, yet unpleasant viewing experience, The Other Lamb is a film I would consider purely cinematic in so much as no other medium could capture the film’s essence.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 8

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

I was originally going to power my way through two or three movies today. There’s a surprising number of 2020 horror films left on my list and was going to turn it into a marathon like I did for day three. Between an unusually busy workday, and some outright exhaustion from the intensity of the week, I ended up only making it through one movie today.

The Lodge (2020, Dir. Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala)

The Lodge' Review: - Variety

Midway through the film, The Lodge breaks one of the cardinal sins of film making: never show footage of a better movie in your film. Snowed in at the titular lodge, Grace (Riley Keough) is watching The Thing (1982, Dir John Carpenter) with Aiden (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh) the children of her fiancé. On the surface, this decision feels especially egregious; showing one of the most iconic “trapped in a snowy hell” films only begs comparison to your own “trapped in a snowy hell” film.

And yet, the comparison to the horror classic enhances the film by causing a false idea of the narrative. Forgive me because I’m going to spoil the heck out of this movie. Unlike The Thing’s supernatural element, there is nothing special going on in the world of The Lodge. It’s just two children acting like brats gaslighting a woman because they are children. Grace has known nothing but torture her entire life, and when these two reactive the trauma from her childhood in a cult, they create a monster grounded entirely in the evils of man.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 7

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

I made it a week. Even being glued to cable TV for a super important runoff election and for a literal insurrection couldn’t stop me. I will admit, that when I say I didn’t let those things stop me, I mean that only in the most literal sense. 2021 is taking after 2020 in that everything is exhaustingly long. This post is coming out rather late because instead of watching a movie right after work, I needed to take a cortisol induced nap. All that’s to say, tonight’s movie may have ended up on docket because of it’s rather short runtime.

The Vast of Night (2020, Dir. Carlo Mirabella-Davis)

The Vast of Night movie review (2020) | Roger Ebert

The Vast of Night is a poster child for movies that are worse than the some of their parts. I know that makes it sound like I didn’t care for the film, but that’s not the case. The movie had some absolute bangers of bangers of parts, but all-in-all I think it was merely very good.

The obvious standout of the film was the opening act. Filled to the brim with flashy camera work and exciting dialects, the opening sparks with energy that the film never quite finds again. We’re introduced to our two leads Everett Sloan (Jake Horowitz) and Fay Crocker (Sierra McCormick) as separately both make temporary appearances at the high school basketball game before it begins. After an on the fly introduction via interactions with people we will never meet again, the two leave together to go to their separate part time jobs. The two teens work while seemingly the rest of the town is in attendance that the game they’re missing; the game that’s obviously the most important thing going on that night.

One week in, I’m really glad I gave myself this goal. It’s helped me drastically increase my film watching after my down year last year, yet it’s never felt arduous. Obviously I’m only 1/52 through the challenge, and it’s far more likely that I’ll miss a day than keep this up uninterrupted, but what matters right now is that I’m feeling the happy having taken this on.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 6

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie Reviews1 Comment

Once again, my country proves itself to be completely unhinged. After a few hours of watching the insurrection on the news, I needed some escapism. I unfortunately still feel beholden to my 2020 film list, I really hope that I’ll put together an end of the year list I’m happy with by mid-January, so given those self-imposed parameters for finding some escapism, I landed on…

Swallow (2020, Dir. Carlo Mirabella-Davis)

Trailer: Carlo Mirabella-Davis's Swallow, With Haley Bennett

Maybe not the type of movie most people would flock to in search of an escape, but it lands in a perfect spot for me. The “woman with psychosis” is an extremely overplayed trope, but when used aptly it can shed light on the patriarchal system in which we live. Swallow does not mince around with its metaphor, Hunter (Haley Bennett) begins swallowing items in protest of her circumstance. Rushed into marriage and pregnancy, she finds that her every decision is being dictated by her husband and his family. Everything else predetermined for her, she finds a modicum of power in her eating disorder. Much like in the real world, when one rebels ever so slightly against the oppressive hierarchy, the ones in charge push back in force less the regressive system lose its grasp. For Hunter, this takes place through unethical doctors and constant surveillance keeping her in check. A wonderfully dark psychodrama with just a pinch of body horror for some spice.

After watching this, I still didn’t want to return to the news, so I joined a group to which I belong’s movie night, and we watched…

A Knight’s Tale (2001, Dir. Brian Helgeland)

A Love Letter to... A Knight's Tale - One Room With A View

I don’t honestly have a lot to say about this one. It was fine, but not the kind of movie I would ever seek out on my own. Heath Ledger was a great actor who we lost too soon, and he was easily the bright spot of this film. And while I was largely ambivalent to the rest of the film outside of Ledger’s performance, instead of harping on what I did or didn’t like, I instead want to mention how wonderful it was to watch a movie with people today. Film is my passion. I would have spent the afternoon watching movies for comfort regardless, but sharing what I love with others, even if not what I would choose to watch, makes the world a little less dark and lonely even on days like today.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 5

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

Bear with me, I’m going to take you on a journey about my movie pick for today. In the end of 2011, my love for movies was already well established, but I had never really tracked what I had watched before. Then, in service of building my excel skills for my resume, I started keeping track of all the films I watched in the spreadsheet. Nine years later, it’s time to log my 2,000th unique film. It may be completely arbitrary milestone, but since I noticed it, I thought it was worthy of something a little special. I’m still working through my 2020 back log, but only one of the films on my list stars my favorite actress…

Promising Young Woman (2020, Dir. Emerald Fennell)

Carey Mulligan is ready to shock you with 'Promising Young Woman'

I’m so glad that I chose this film for this makeshift movie milestone. As I hinted at above, Carey Mulligan is my favorite actress. Ever since watching her performance as Sissy in Shame (2011, Dir. Steve McQueen) on the big screen I fell in love. Her newest performance as the 30-year-old Cassie in Promising Young Woman is another masterful role under her belt. The entire film hinges on her performance, and she sells the traumatized to the point of being violently unhinged while still seriously hurting and fragile. Every decision she makes feels perfectly in character. She even manages to overcome a less than tonally appropriate performance by her co-star Bo Burnham keeping the story focused.

Emerald Fennell shows a wealth of cinematic knowledge for someone making her first film. Playing off the traditional revenge fantasy trope, Fennell taps into the deeper horror that permeates the psyche of a woman forced to undergo the worst thing imaginable. The revenge in Promising Young Woman never takes on a cathartic feel; the damage has been done and the revenge acts only as punishment, not as a release from the pain. Trauma is unending, and that is what makes the damage so insidious. Cassie may have lived a decade past the event, but her life ended that day.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 4

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

Today was my first day back to work, and I honestly was not feeling it. Combine that with the beginnings of a sinus infection coming on, and I felt like in contrast with yesterday’s horror extravaganza, today would be a good time for something more heartwarming. Today, heartwarming means animated. I’m not trying to fall for the animated equals family friendly cliché, I promise at some point this year I’ll tackle some challenging animated films, but for today that’s what we’re going with. Sticking with animated also let’s me cross another 2020 film off my list, specifically…

Soul (2020, Dir. Pete Doctor and Kemp Powers)

Soul' reviews: What critics are saying about Pixar's newest film

Peak, late aughts, Pixar was so exceptional, that it made the concept of a Pixar film a near impossibility to live up to. Soul, like Onward (Dir. Dan Scanlon) from earlier in the year once again fails to live up to those lofty heights. While Soul was the standout of the two, watching it was the more depressing one as it came close to capturing some of that late aughts magic, only to be weighed down with decisions that have become all the too common in Pixar films.

What worked for me the best in the film was everything to do with Jazz. Pete Doctor and Kemp Powers do a wonderful job of capturing the idea of being in the zone; they use the cinematic language to articulate the world melting around you. Jamie Foxx is wonderful as the Jazz obsessed Joe. On the other hand, Tina Fey as the soul 22 was a serious detriment to my viewing experience. It’s not that she’s a bad actress, but she’s too much of an actress for the role. 22’s purpose in the film should be as a catalyst to propel growth in Joe, but the comedic sidekick casting is overbearing. It’s Disney deciding that nuance isn’t something that should be embraced but stamped out in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Not every animated film needs to be WALL·E (2008, Dir. Andrew Stanton), but I worry Disney is too concerned with money to ever allow Pixar a film that nuanced again.

I don’t want to end on too negative a note, I liked Soul more than I disliked it. I just wanted more from it. So as not to end on a sour note, I decided to watch one more thing. A personal goal I do each year, and that you’ll see a lot more posts on when it comes time, is watch everything that’s nominated for an Oscar, any Oscar. That’s why after watching the animated Soul, it seemed like a good time to check out an animated short frontrunner.

If Anything Happens I Love You (2020, Dir. Michael Govier and Will McCormack)

Short Films in Focus: If Anything Happens I Love You | Features | Roger Ebert

And I immediately eat my own introductory words by watching this beautiful but heart wrenching animated short about two parents grieving their child who died in a school shooting. The minimalist art style of the short heightens the morose subject matter. Significant white space breaks with the conventional norm to build the sense of isolation and listlessness. Characters existing both as bodies and shadows highlight the dissociation that comes from trauma.  A moving depiction of an awful reality.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 3

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

We’ve been in an artsy horror golden age for a while now. A24 has lead the way with their take on the genre, primarily long and slow burns. Even further outside of the norm, there’s been a renaissance of loud synth scored, neon highlighted horror films that have become their own unique genre. Nicolas Winding Refn’s may have the most prominent progenitor of the style, but each year the genre’s output is increasing. Earlier in 2020, I watched the Nicolas Cage vehicle Color Out of Space (dir. Richard Stanley) which was a fun entry if a little basic, but I had a few more 2020 horror films on my list yet starting with…

Possessor (2020, Dir. Brandon Cronenberg)

Possessor' Review: David Cronenberg's Son Has a Mind of His Own - Variety

Brandon Cronenberg proves that he inherited more than just a name from his father. Possessor was a brilliant horror thriller that borrowed just enough of Brandon’s father David’s penchant for body horror to create one of the most thrilling options this year. The body inhabiting plot seems a little overplayed on paper, but Cronenberg cranks the style to 11, fading back and forth between the characters inhabiting a single body, and with Jennifer Jason Leigh almost celestial voice beckoning from afar.

Short post on the film today, because after watching Possessor, I watched…

She Dies Tomorrow (2020, Dir. Amy Seimetz)

She Dies Tomorrow review: figuring out how to spend your last day is really damn hard - The Verge

While this film did not quite fit into the specific sub-genre I mentioned at the opening, it is an example of artistic revolution undergoing low budget horror. While Possessor relied on style to enhance the somewhat generic substance, She Dies Tomorrow thrived on its bat shit premise. Taking the concept of ideas as contagious to its most literal resulted in a truly unique experience. An extremely funny horror film that somehow never feels outright comedic, She Dies Tomorrow was a great watch.

And because tomorrow I’ll have less time when I go back to work, I decided a third 2020 horror film wouldn’t kill me and watched…

Run (2020, Dir. Aneesh Chaganty)

Run' Review: A Wheelchair-Using Teen Tries to Escape Her Sadistic Mom - Variety

Of the three films I watched today, Run is the most conventional both in plot and style, but it makes up for that by just being the best realized and an utterly terrifying film. Director Aneesh Chaganty comes off his gimmicky but highly effective Searching (2018) and proves that he’s just as talented at building tension with a moving camera as he is confined to a computer screen. Highlighted by an unhinged Sarah Paulson and a miraculous debut performance by Kiera Allen, Run was a great final film of the long weekend, and final film of the first weekend of this challenge.