Thanks to Criterion Channel, I was finally able to see another Billy Wilder film. I just love him and what's particularly wonderful about this film is that it feels like it could also work as a farce (if not for the subject matter). I just found out they originally intended the lead role for Cary Grant, and that only confirms my feeling about the undercurrents of humor throughout. Also, Anne Baxter's character shows surprising depth and autonomy which was refreshing…
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Top Gun: Maverick 2022
Definitely better than the 1st one which I saw at 18 at the cinema. So, yes, nostalgia plays a large part in seeing this and watching Tom Cruise age. I did get quite emotional about Val Kilmer. But there was lots of groan-inducing lines and moments and far too much rehashing, but like everyone else, it's the action sequences that elevate this to blockbuster status for me. Sometimes, even I just want to have fun at the cinema.
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Fire Island 2022
Happy Pride 🌈! I love Pride and Prejudice, and this is a fun frolic of an adaptation. I found Bowen Yang utterly adorable and moving in this. It was so nice to see him as the least flamboyant character. I'm so glad that this got made by Asian gay men (writer, director, stars). Representation continues to matter.
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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 2022
This was a lot of fun to see at the cinema with a crowd laughing and getting references. It is about as meta as a film should ever be, and the first hour is an absolute delight. Nicholas Cage and Pedro Pascal are an inspired duo.
It absolutely helped that this was the 30th Cage film I've seen and that I'm a huge film nerd. For instance, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Paddington 2 are both in my personal Top…
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Everything Everywhere All at Once 2022
First of all, give whoever made the watched button a googly eye on LB for this film a huge raise! 😂
2nd, holy shit, the husband is the actor who played Short Round in Temple of Doom (where I, perhaps unfairly, hated him).
But mostly, thank god I saw this today. It was just what I needed! While it is absolutely an original, it combined elements of a number of my favorite films (Kung Fu Hustle, Being John Malkovich, Mitchells…
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Vagabond 1985
In 1985, I was 18. The same age as this film's star Sandrine Bonnaire. I wonder how this film would have hit me then? I was graduating high school, working the summer in Jackson Hole, and then beginning college at the University of New Mexico. And yet, even now, I recognize in Mona the same angry restless spirit which I buried deep beneath my Pollyanna facade.
This film is both about wandering and withering, freedom and loneliness, and the choices…
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Turning Red 2022
I have always believed that the more specific you make a poem or story the more universal it will appeal. You don't have to be from the same race, country, gender-identity, age group to recognize universal truths about puberty. I feel sorry for those who find anything "upsetting" about this film. The fact it is even rated PG shows how bewildering the world can be about accepting women's bodies and their natural functions as anything but normal.
The amount of…
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Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021
At long last, a return to the cinema! Truly glad I got to see this on the big screen. I had such fun with it. I've seen every Spiderman movie and watched the 70s tv show so consider me the fan that was serviced. Even stayed for both stingers.
Not that there's anything left to spoil at this late date, but you're not getting more from me.
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Drive My Car 2021
Not only did this film not include The Beatles song, it has no score. Like Roma before it, I found this really helped me to focus on words or text since it was subtitled. The theme of the importance of text runs throughout--whether it be plays, screenplays, or the stories we tell.
I was really annoyed that having avoided knowing almost anything other than the poster and short summary on HBOMax, that the stupid summary ruined the 1st part of…
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Free Guy 2021
With all that's going on in the world, we needed something that wouldn't depress the fuck out of us. Success! I made fun of a lot about this film, but it was hard to resist the cast and their humor. Oddly, Taika Waititi was my least favorite part of the movie which is not something I never expected to write.
Only a few more weeks until I can see Jodie Comer as Villanelle again!
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Flee 2021
I was astounded to see Flee available to stream on Hulu. Finally a way to see this multiple Oscar nominee. I am so glad I made the time.
I knew almost nothing about it beyond the hype which, thankfully, allowed me to watch the film in full suspense.
Documentaries always bear the heavy weight of being "true", and I thought the use of animation and eventual truth were all the more compelling because of how it was directed.I was…