Category: Movie Reviews

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.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 2

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

A task that has become progressively more polarized for me each year has been coming up with a best films of the year list each year. I love the practice of sitting down and working my way through the films critics decided were the best, as well as others that had been on my list for other reasons, but the pressure to find things before the end of the year stresses me out. This year, I allowed myself a slight reprieve, and instead of cramming everything in by December 31st, I’m working my way through my to-watch list and will put together my final thoughts when I’m ready. Speaking of 2020 films on my to-watch list…

Minari (2020, dir. Lee Isaac Chung)

Montclair Film Festival Review: 'Minari' is an Intimate Look at Assimilation - Awards Radar

Much like the Criterion “C” at the beginning of a home release, any film that begins its runtime with stylized A24 is going to have my attention. A24 existing as a low budget outlet for creative voices to make bold statements unbeholden to the impact on box office performance. Minari is the perfect film for the studio in that sense. While an American film, the dialogue is primarily in Korean, and the drama of the Korean-American Yi family is not something that will play to the masses.

Despite all of this, for people willing to give the A24 brand a watch, Minari does what so many of their dramas accomplish: highlight the universal through the specific. The film is portrayed as a classic American Dream story when the family purchase a farm in Arkansas. Unlike the American fairy tale that has been told for generations, the American Dream has never been true. There will be no pulling oneself up by their bootstraps. Instead, the film focuses on how the poisonous indoctrination to father capitalism creates rifts in the family.

I don’t think it’s just my politics that are finding this reading; the only way that the film is specifically dated as being from the 1980s is through a Ronald Reagan name drop after all. The movie opens with their relocation to the remote acreage that will become their farm, and from the beginning it’s clear that the father is making decisions for the family in accordance with his dream.  While he may think it’s in the family best interests, it’s clear that it’s not. The mother, rightfully, counters that the lure of financial independence is no reason to live an hour away from the nearest hospital when you have a child, David. with a potentially deadly heart condition. This argument once again comes to a head when the family is in an Oklahoma City hospital for David to get an ultrasound, and the father chooses the safety of his crop samples over being with David for the appointment. The climax of the film, which I’ll avoid spoiling, plays directly into this thesis as well.

I got a little lost on a tangent with this one. The film is beautiful and will undoubtedly be appearing on my best of 2020 list when I get around to it. It pulled at my heart strings as well as my political mind, and the blurb it receives on an eventual year end list will reflect that. Expect quite a few more 2020 movies in the weeks to come. There’s still 20 or so films that I’d like to see before then.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 1

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

There’s nothing special about New Years day. It’s often considered a fresh start, and clearly I’m no different in seeing it as such as I chose to start this project today, but nothing separates today from yesterday. Well one thing does differentiate today from yesterday: I have today off. And because of that important difference, I’m starting my 2021 film journey with…

Fanny & Alexander (1982, dir. Ingmar Bergman)

Film Forum · FANNY AND ALEXANDER II & III

I prepared a section of my couch for the 5-hour 20-minute mini-series version of the Ingmar Bergman classic. With my new weighted blanket covering me (and a bonus 10 pounds of cat on top of that). I was prepared to not move for an extended period while I allowed the film to wash over me, and that mentality proved indispensable to my Fanny & Alexander viewing experience.

Through the first part of the film, I was mostly unenthused. The bloated cast size at the Ekdahl Christmas party with scant appearances but the titular children left me cold toward film. I felt a decisive lack of a welcoming presence for me as the viewer. As the movie progressed, it became more focused, and in doing so I understood the purpose of the opening section. Immediately after the emotional high of the Christmas party, Life for Fanny, Alexander, and their mother Emilie are forced into emotional trauma starting with the death of Oscar, Emilie’s husband and Fanny and Alexander’s father, and then being thrust into an abusive household once Emilie re-marries. As the hours of the film continue, the Ekdahls feel ever further away from the joy from the initial act. The films length enhanced the empathy I felt for each character. Despite the deliberate pace, I found myself anxiously holding my cat tighter than he appreciated, desperately hoping the family could just return home.

And that is how my year started. A restful day filled with a movie from my classic cinema blind spots, and one less movie on my shelf torturing me as something I’ve purchased without seeing. I only hope that the next 364 days will remain as calming as today.

Oscar Ballot 2020 (If I had a Vote)

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

Image result for oscars 2020 banner

The Oscars are my version of the Superbowl, and after frantically filling in my blind spots this past month, I’ve, for the 3rd year in a row, been better than most actual voting members of the Academy and watched every nominated film. In preparation for tonight’s show, allow me to share what I’d vote for in all 24 categories.

Visual Effects – The Lion King

While I did not especially care for the impact the visuals had on the recreation of The Lion King, I can’t deny that they were impressive. The animated photo-realism is a technical marvel even if the film falls flat.

Costume – Little Women

The costume design in Little Women is both gorgeous and serves as a detail to explain the class differential between the characters.

Makeup and Hairstyling – Bombshell

The three leads in Bombshell go through great transformations through their hair and makeup. Charlize Theron’s transformation into Megyn Kelly is particularly eerie in it’s accuracy.

Production Design – Parasite

Both houses in Parasite are wonders of production design. The contrast between the dirty basement dwelling and the modern million dollar household plays well to the themes of the film.

Sound Editing – 1917

The war sounds in 1917 are immersive in their accuracy. Each bullet and explosion fell real.

Sound Mixing – 1917

Similarly, the mixing in 1917 is excellent. The blending of quiet stealth moments with loud action scenes create great contrast. Where the mixing stands out the most is late in the film when a song slowly crescendos as Lance Corporal Schofield staggers through a forest.

Original Song – (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again (Rocketman)

I feel somewhat weird voting on the music categories, because I don’t have the objective knowledge to judge them like I do with film, but of the songs nominated, I liked “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” the best so it get’s my vote.

Original Score – Joke

I did not like Joker, and I do not think it’s a very good movie. That said, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is magnificent. Eerie and foreboding while still being extremely melodic and captivating, her score is the highlight of the film and in a perfect world would be the only Oscar it received.

Editing – Parasite

By cutting back and forth from planning to scheme, Parasite‘s tension is amplified cementing it in the thriller genre.

Cinematography – 1917

The most obvious of the categories, Roger Deakins “one-take” 1917 is impressively beautiful. The night scene in particular is some of the best photography I’ve seen.

Short Film, Live Action – A Sister

This was probably the weakest category this year, but A Sister was a worthy winner. A really tense portrayal of a car ride gone wrong, and the lengths women need to go to be safe.

Short Film, Animated – Kitbull

Was I won over by a cute cat video? Yes, yes I was.

Short Film, Documentary – Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

A strong category this year, but the joy of watching the Afghan girls learn to skateboard and find confidence made this my pick.

Documentary Feature – For Sama

My favorite film nominated for any Oscar this year, For Sama‘s framing of the film as a gift for the director’s baby Sama brought a personal flare that left me shaken by it’s power.

Animated Feature – I Lost My Body

A young man trying to find meaning in life and a severed hand searching for it’s body all backed by great animation and a stellar score make it the best animated feature of the year.

International Film – Pain and Glory

Yes Parasite is amazing and will undoubtedly win, but Pain and Glory is the best movie Almodóvar has ever made and it’s extremely personal story is in my opinion the best international film of the year.

Adapted Screenplay – Little Women

Previous adaptations of Little Women have always struggled with the condensing of two books into one movie resulting in subsequent three act structures. By telling the story non-linearly, Gerwig managed to be freed of that issue in a beautiful way.

Original Screenplay – Marriage Story

Marriage Story is getting the most recognition for it’s acting, and while all the nominated performances are amazing, the underlying screenplay gave them a superb starting place.

Supporting Actor – Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)

When watching Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Brad Pitt stands out as just having a lot of fun. Be it cruising through the streets of late 60’s LA, brawling with Bruce Lee (Mike Moh), or beating up members of the Manson family while high on acid, Pitt’s presence is always enjoyable.

Supporting Actress – Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Dern as the cutthroat Lawyer with a sugar coated exterior is the best performance in a film filled with best performances. Her sympathy for Johansson’s Nicole is endearing, but her shrewdness sneaks through when she goes on the offensive in court. All together, an intricately balanced performance.

Lead Actor – Antonio Banderes (Pain and Glory)

Banderes’s performance as the aging and pain ridden Salvador Mallo, a not so subtle Almodóvar stand-in, is subtle in it’s brilliance. He’s tortured by the demons in his past, but he internalizes them letting them destroy his life. The Oscar will undoubtedly go to the flashy Joaquin Phoenix performance, but if you’re looking for the best acting and not the most acting, it should be Banderes.

Lead Actress – Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Renée Zellweger was so good as Judy Garland that I find myself singing the movie’s praises when really she’s the only reason to see it. That said it is worth seeing just for her performance.

Director – Bon Joon Ho (Parasite)

Parasite is the most meticulously put together film of the year. It has the strongest auteurial voice. The tension and intensity stem directly through Bon Joon Ho’s decision at the head of the film.

Picture – Marriage Story

Not the best movie of the year (though I did have it at number three), but between an immaculate screenplay, and strong performances through out, Marriage Story is the movie I recommend to people over almost anything else released this year. It’s personal and emotional and would be a worthy winner of the Best Picture Oscar.

Atlantics: Desperation through lack of Agency

On By LaurenDolceVitaIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

#52FilmsbyWomen: Week 2

I was without a computer for a few weeks so forgive me as I play catch-up on a few weeks.

Atlantics (2019, Mati Diop)

Image result for atlantics poster"

People do desperate things when life gives them no other option. These gambles rarely work but are a way to regain some amount of agency when the systems that oppress are too strong.  The poverty that affects many citizens of traditionally colonized countries and strict patriarchal law are two such systems that serve as the setting for Mati Diop’s Atlantics.  Told through the guise of a supernatural drama, at its heart, Atlantics is a story of people struggling with their lack of agency.

Ada (Mame Bineta Sane) is a young woman and the cusp of losing her agency. She has a group of friends who are disrespected by her family and a secret love in Souleiman (Traore), but in the near future she is expected to forgo those joys. Instead of being with people who bring her joy, she is betrothed to a different man, Omar. Omar’s wealth offers a promise of future stability and a reprieve from poverty. Conversely it would require her to leave her life, and the one she loves behind.

Souleiman likewise struggles with debilitating external oppression. He works as a construction worker building a tower for the wealthy. When the contractor refuses to pay his workers for the job they’ve done, Souleiman is forced to take a risky chance simply to survive. He and his fellow workers board a ship heading for Spain in hopes of finding work, leaving their loved ones including Ada behind.

With Souleiman acting in desperation and leaving, Ada gives into her situation. She marries Omar and accepts that her life as she knew it is over, and yet even in her resignment, she continues to lose agency.  When her past relationship with Souleiman comes public, her father and husband force her to go to the doctor and take a virginity test. Humiliated, she, like Souleiman, chooses to act in desperation leaving the financial backing of her husband and parents to try to survive.

Director Mati Diop uses her characters to reflect reality, and thus denies them a perfect fairytale ending.  Souleiman never returns for Ada because he dies when his ship sinks en route to Spain. His gamble failed. Only through supernatural means are Souleiman and his crew able to find some form of vengeance against the rich contractor who refused to pay them.  Ada likewise has a bittersweet ending. She finally has control over her life, but she had to leave behind any support systems she’d ever known.  Atlantics is a tragic film because even accepting supernatural help, the systems the oppressed Ada and Suoleiman were too strong for any other outcome.