Reluctant optimist. Hopeful cynic. I dunno what I am. In any case, I balk at the idea of rating art, yet here I am.
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The Way of the Dragon 1972
Charming. Quirky. Bruce's action is superb. His attempts at comedy are usually contrived, and usually fall as flat as his opponents. They also bolster that sense of charm, and perhaps I'm more forgiving, because we all got less Bruce than we'd have liked. The plot is paper-thin. Characters? Nope. Acting? Nothing to write home about. Cinematography? Hah. The dubbing? Tiresome. It would be difficult to argue that this is 'good' in almost any conventional sense. Here we are. A valuable artefact.
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Enemy of the State 1998
There's nothing like an anti-surveillance state, conspiracy thriller to lift my mood.
Enemy of the State, which is one of the first 'grown up' films I remember seeing, should be credited with sparking my <s>paranoia</s> reasonable, logically-founded fears and concerns. An introduction to mature awareness of potential for abuse of state power. I used to fantasise about having to destroy all traces of my life, disappear, go underground, because of an errant phone call.
It's tremendous fun. Tony Scott's pacing…
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Leave No Trace 2018
Brutal and sensitive. Underpinned by Thomasin McKenzie's central performance of glorious tenderness, innocence, and deep emotional strength. Ben Foster moves mountains. Directed such that it unfolds gently and naturally, but never flagging, always giving us something to think about, something to feel, something to wonder, people to sit with, a landscape to marvel at, contradictions to absorb. I haven't been moved in this way since I saw The Florida Project. I have more thoughts, but I'm just going to let this one sit with me for the moment.
