Films from cheap DVD collections

20 Classic Movie Collection: Leading Ladies

Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

Biopic of Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern (best known today for the song "Old Man River") featuring Judy Garland (her spotlight song clearly evoking "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury.  Not exactly Yankee Doodle Dandy but worth a look.

Home Town Story (1951) Marilyn Monroe has a bit part in this film that's not quite Citizen Kane or Frank Capra, but tries hard to be.

Affair in Monte Carlo (1952)

Weird editing makes this movie's timeline confusing in ways the filmmaking doesn't really support, essentially the body is flashback to a present that doesn't have much to say.  

The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

The unorthodox editing works better in this one (in other words, just plain better filmmaking) featuring Elizabeth Taylor, Donna Reed, Roger Moore, and Eva Gabor.  

The Groom Wore Spurs (1951)

A sendup of the classic celluloid cowboy featuring Ginger Rogers.

Midnight Cop (1988)

A horrible detective story featuring Michael York and Morgan Fairchild.

Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring (1975)

TV movie about Sally Field being a hippy who worries her family including Jackie Cooper (the Christopher Reeve-era Perry White) by dating and/or living with other hippies like David Carradine, who looks considerably different with all that hair.

Tulsa (1949)

A movie starring Susan Hayward (and the Ed Begley who's not Ed Begley, Jr.!) that took on new light after I saw and read Flowers of the Killer Moon, covering very similar territory from a much different vantage point.

The Deadly Companions (1961)

Sam Peckinpah directs a movie where people are crazy about Maureen O'Hara, with one good guy having to constantly defend her against all the bad guys he inadvertantly linked up with and prevent everyone from seeing the telltale clue about his past hiding beneath that cowboy hat he never removes...

Dishonored Lady (1947)

Overblown drama revolving around Hedy Lamarr, (part-time inventor).

Kill Cruise (1990)

Nonsense survival fluff featuring a young Elizabeth Hurley.

Nothing Sacred (1937)

Nonsense newspaper shenanigans featuring Carole Lombard, Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West!) and Hattie McDaniel (Gone with the Wind).

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

An adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway story featuring Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner.

Road to Bali (1952)

The sixth of seven in the series featuring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (in most of them).  Classic screwball comedy.

Mutiny (1952)

Ridiculous tale featuring Angela Lansbury.

Never Wave at a WAC (1953)

Screwball look at women in the military.

Jane Eyre (1934)

Adaptation starring the literary classic.

The Seducers (1977)

I watched through a lot of movies.  Some of them I did not watch very thoroughly.  Some of them just weren't worth the effort, okay?  When these things are being compiled through the public domain, they take what they can get.  

Katherine (1975)

Another darned TV hippy flick, this one starring Sissy Spacek in the role of the young future star as a hippy and Henry Winkler as the hirsute actor you'll struggle to recognize as the hippy love interest.

Power, Passion & Murder (1983)

Michelle Pfeiffer conveniently in the public domain, and also Hector Elizondo.  And Holland Taylor!

20 Classic Movie Collection: Leading Men

Constantine and the Cross (1962)

Cumbersome version of how Constantine converted himself and/or the Roman Empire.

The Night America Trembled (1957)

This right here was for me worth pursuing any of this in the first place.  A TV version of the famous Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds, featuring Edward R. Murrow, Warren Beatty, Ed Asner and James Coburn.

The Animal Kingdom (1932)

Puffle featuring Myrna Loy.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1958)

Clever musical version of the classic tale featuring Van Johnson and Claude Rains (Prince John in the classic Errol Flynn Adventures of Robin Hood).

That Uncertain Feeling (1941)

Nonsense romance shenanigans featuring Burgess Meredith.

Life with Father (1947)

Directed by Michael Curtiz (best known for Casablanca, but with a bunch of other standouts), but not worth much, a silly story about a dad played by William Powell (The Thin Man et al) and featuring Elizabeth Taylor.

This is the Army (1943)

Also directed by Curtiz (they couldn't afford any of his good movies), featuring Ronald Reagan in a movie that wishes it was White Christmas, with cameos from the likes of Irving Berlin, Joe Louis and Kate Smith.

The Amazing Adventure (1937)

Cary Grant tries to prove he can survive without relying on his massive inherited fortune...but kind of only succeeds because of his massive inherited fortune anyway.

Borderline (1950)

Fred MacMurray's the hero and Raymond Burr's the villain in this tale of uncertain identities pursuing justice.

A Bolt of Lightning (1951)

Another TV episode, a drama set during the runup to the Revolutionary War featuring Charlton Heston and very little to interest viewers.

A Tattered Web (1971)

Features Lloyd Bridges, James Hong (many small roles over the years!), and not much by way of me remembering anything about it.

Target of an Assassin (1976)

Features Anthony Quinn and another movie I don't remember much about.

The Bushwhackers (1952)

Features Lawrence Tierney, Lon Chaney Jr., and a third disc of the set that starts out with nothing much happening.

Royal Wedding (1951)

Fred Astaire to the rescue!  Featuring memorable dancing on walls, ceiling...anything at all, even dancing with a hatrack!

Made for Each Other (1939)

James Stewart and Carole Lombard can't save this.

Fighting Caravans (1931)

Gary Cooper looking so young it's like seeing a silent film version.

The Lady Says No (1952)

David Niven in not much to talk about here.

Behave Yourself (1951)

Lon Chaney Jr. in another movie I didn't spend too much time on that same day.

Port of New York (1949)

Gosh, had to pay attention to this one!  Yul Brynner's hairline makes it pretty clear why he ended up with the bald look...

David and Goliath (1960)

Orson Welles can't save this one.

I barreled through all these from October 2nd to the 29th.  It was an accomplishment of endurance and commitment when a lot of the material really didn't merit it.  Here we are finally writing this up, which was the main reason I did it at all.  Huzzah!

Every 2023 movie I’ve seen so far

65

The more I thought of this one the more I loved it, an experience that’s worth it on a number of levels. Plus allows me to admire Adam Driver’s acting without much distraction.

80 for Brady

The cast is low energy but it would be a sin against my home country not to partake.

A Good Person

This was the year I finally understood the appeal of Florence Pugh. Another Zach Braff film worth savoring, another excellent turn from Morgan Freeman.

Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania

The problem with recent MCU movies is that they keep trying to be overly ambitious without necessarily understanding how to do it. It’s the reverse of Captain America: Civil War, the third one in that trilogy that was essentially an Avengers movie. Keeping this movie entirely contained with Ant-Man characters both robs it of  the Ant-Man storytelling from the two previous entries and makes Kang look infinitely smaller than he should. It’s one thing to contextualize Thanos, another to just use the villain and actually defeat him in epic fashion before he has a chance to be a threat worth bringing in other heroes.

Asteroid City

My gosh one of my favorite Wes Andersons.

Barbie

Yeah, it was fun!

Beau is Afraid

The director (Ari Aster) has been a cult favorite for a few years now, but ironically I find him most palatable when he’s at his most indulgent and not just trying to impress. A strange wonderful experience.

Blue Beetle

I loved this more in theaters than I did at home. 

Chevalier

Wanted to make one point and either intentionally or accidentally made another. Look, we have a black musical genius who ended up buried by history. Worth rediscovering. Not worth trying to sell the benefits of the horrific Reign of Terror in the process.

Cocaine Bear

I really wanted to like a big dumb movie. I ended up just sort of liking it. Desperately needed characters as outlandish as the premise. But the ‘90s sort of proved this was a very fine line to walk. So I get why it went in a different direction.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Basically an MCU movie set outside the MCU.

Fast X

I’ve been along for the ride since the second one. Of course I’m still aboard.

The Flash

I will always doubt public opinion on the face of it when it’s too universally positive or too universally negative, since it becomes clear most of it is just people deciding it’s easy to just agree. This would be one of those modern examples. I love the Barry Allens. I love Keaton’s return. I love Supergirl. I adore this depiction of the Allen household and crisis. Everything else is needless nitpicking.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

I love that we get the secret origin of Rocket. Everything else basically ignores Rocket himself, though, which is the basic problem of the film. If you have the heart you need it pumping.

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant 

From April until July this was easily my movie of the year, a breathtaking set of journeys built around themes of duty, commitment, endurance, responsibility, humanity, all needful statements in this current age.

John Wick: Chapter 4

Watching it in the theater I wondered if it had, other than its ending, something valuable to add to the franchise. Watching it back later, I understood its merits better.

Killers of the Flower Moon

Martin Scorsese has been chasing The Godfather his whole career. This may be his most complete response.

Knock at the Cabin

M. Night Shyamalan back to his classic roots after years of experimenting. 

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

As an addition to Dracula film lore, I’m glad this happened.

Marlowe

Liam Neeson is taken totally for granted these days since he “only makes mindless action movies.” This is a great take on a classic literary and film figure.

Master Gardener

A classic showcase for Joel Edgerton.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

This is the fourth stylistic reincarnation of the series, more playful, somehow more dramatic.

Napoleon 

Ridley Scott is the unchallenged king of historical epics. And this is probably his best work.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre

It’s strange how effortlessly I’ve become a fan of Guy Ritchie in recent years, since for a long time I couldn’t have cared less. But these days he can do no wrong for me. This one’s popcorn enjoyable.

Oppenheimer 

Something would have to come out of nowhere to displace this as my favorite movie of the year. A career pinnacle of a career built out of pinnacles.

Paint

Owen Wilson doesn’t appear in Asteroid City, but in this film found something Andersonesque anyway. 

Plane

On Facebook I’m in a Lost group. Someone pointed out this was essentially a Gerard Butler version of the basic plot of the series. Which it is. Which is not necessarily the only way to enjoy it.

Polite Society

This year’s closest equivalent to Everything Everywhere All At Once is a delight not completely to that level but its own irresistible pleasure.

The Pope’s Exorcist 

Russell Crowe getting back into theatrical starring roles is a good thing as far as career statements go. This one wasn’t as good as it could have been. Almost. Still an interesting role and performance from him, though.

Renfield

The other Dracula movie (perfect role for modern Nic Cage!) is great fun.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

It’s not just Disney firing blanks with families this year. This is an entertaining movie that came and went with nobody noticing.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

More confident than the first one. Still requires you to believe this is the DC alternative to everything you didn’t like about every other recent DC movie.

Sisu

One of those obvious cult classics in the making that it’s absolutely worth experiencing. A slightly more grounded John Wick. Slightly.

Sound of Freedom

Jim Caviezel has become a genius at finding projects for those interested in him from that time he got brutalized for two hours.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

A kind of postmodern superhero movie that’s less about the superhero doing anything super and more about the superhero plunged deep into superhero logic. Most comics are being written like this these days. I know this is the second one, but I found this one easier to watch. But still a snake eating its own tail.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Pretty much exactly what it needed to be. (So the exact opposite of that other attempt thirty years ago which thought it was Beetlejuice.)

Sweetwater 

The kind of movie that gets no attention these days but used to be studio and cultural bread and butter, explores the story of the first black player in the NBA, totally unknown today.

Other movies to catch up on, others yet to be seen…!

Don't waste time investigating Billy Jack

Because a collection was at Walmart featuring the character's entire legacy, I finally had a look at Billy Jack (1971), a movie I first heard about when investigating historic box office results.  Until then I had no clue it existed, which is incredibly rare for a large box office hit, which is a phenomenon that happens because a movie makes a significant impact on the pop culture and will be referenced one way or another for years to come.  The Oscars are a completely different matter.  Most nominations are minor films featuring performances or production work Academy voters are keen for one reason or another to recognize, and it's always been that way.

Actually watching Billy Jack explained why this happened to it pretty quickly.  It's a terrible movie.  Its predecessor, The Born Losers (1967) is terrible.  Its sequels, The Trial of Billy Jack (1974) and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977; which doesn't fail because it's an almost complete reshoot of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, but because it retains the same hairbrained production values as the rest of the series, which has as its dubious legacy forcing the blockbuster concept on the wide release schedule movies have been following ever since), are terrible.

I mean terrible.  The title character (which is itself terrible) is a macho hippy.  But a hippy all the same.  All his supporters are hippies.  The real hippies, not the ones the media has tried for decades to sell on a gullible public in the post-hippy era.  Basically the ones Quentin Tarantino features in Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, only the Billy Jack hippies are presented as the counterculture heroes of legend, a huge emphasis on "heroes."

The most offensive part, for me, is that these hippies believe they make good music, but they seem fundamentally incapable of any such thing.  The whole series features, proudly, the anthem "One Tin Soldier" which, if you're keeping up with me, is terrible.  Just so completely convoluted it's difficult to understand how even one film, much less any audience member (it's described elsewhere online as iconic) could believe for a hot minute it isn't complete garbage.

Billy Jack himself is pretty awesome.  He's a dude who can't help but get into fights, and he pioneered martial arts as a cinematic way to do so.  He's worth rooting for, but nothing around him really justifies his actions except in the most cardboard way.  It's like the charisma of Steve McQueen without the cool.  Basically every successful Steve McQueen flick was all about selling the cool image.  It was the whole point.  McQueen went well out of his way to make sure he looked cool.  He had an ego.  In the right context, that's exactly all you really need.

Billy Jack desperately needed anything, anything at all to work.  The success of the films, such as it was, owed everything to guerilla marketing.  It worked.  For that time.  But no one in the Hollywood establishment respected the results.  You don't need that.  But you do need good filmmaking.  

So do yourself a favor, and don't waste time investigating Billy Jack.  It's not worth your time.  Unless you have morbid curiosity.

Always adding physical media into the collection…

I never stopped buying DVDs to my collection. I only started buying Blu-rays a few years ago, when I finally got a player upgrade. Yesterday (and today!) was pretty lucky. I always like to check out thrift stores to see what they’ve got. A local community college had apparently purged its collection (because, y’know, streaming platforms fall all over themselves promoting classic film…), had even tried giving their stock away for free, and, well…I ended up getting to benefit. I certainly don’t mind!

Here’s what I picked up:

-As You Like It, one of Kenneth Branagh’s later Shakespeare adaptations. Haven’t seen it yet.

-Blow Out, a Brian De Palma/John Travolta classic I also haven’t seen yet, in a Criterion Collection edition, no less.

-Cloud Atlas, one of those supremely ambitious novels/movies with an all star cast headed by Tom Hanks in probably (several) of his most interesting performances, which I’ve been wanting to revisit for a few years.

-Dog Day Afternoon, an Al Pacino classic I’ve never seen.

-Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary on Banksy. Back in yon Borders days, I learned about the graffiti genius through a number of books we always had stocked. A few years back I saw a different Banksy doc on a plane ride.

-Frost/Nixon, which is another movie I’ve long wanted to see.

-A doc on Hemingway.

-The Madness of King George, a ‘90s movie that I’ve also been interested in seeing for years.

-The Man Who Would Be King, which I’ve been wanting to add to my collection for years. Great movie.

-Tess of the D’Urbervilles, a BBC production starring Gemma Arterton I’ve had in my collection before and am glad to add back in, also so I can watch it again.

-Whale Rider, which I’ll be very happy to see again.

-White Christmas, which is a big family favorite I haven’t owned until now.

-Leading Men/Leading Ladies, one of those collections of material that would probably have not sold much individually. By far the production I’m most interested in, here, is The Night America Trembled, concerning Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast of War of the Worlds.

Dollar Tree is a surprisingly good place to find interesting things, including books and, yes, DVDs (and Blu-rays!). Today I found:

-Good Kill, a movie starring Ethan Hawks and Zoe Kravitz (which will probably be the first time I see her in something other than a genre performance).

-The Sun Is Also a Star/Everything, Everything, two adaptation of Nicola Yoon books.

-Killing Eve Season Two, a BBC series (Dollar Tree often has BBC programming, including generous helpings of Doctor Who) starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer (who stole The Last Duel from Adam Driver and Matt Damon). Haven’t seen the show yet, so this will be interesting.

-Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, a TV series featuring interviews with and performances from a variety of interesting folks.

-Best of British, a box set of various documentaries and several facsimiles of historical documents, which was indeed an awesome find.

Oppenheimer (2023) Review

rating: *****

the story: The director of the Manhattan Project discovers great achievements don't always have happy endings.

the review: Most of the time, when you see what's going to be your favorite movie of the year, there ought to be no doubt.  Christopher Nolan has been one of my favorite directors since 2001, when Memento was released, and for a few years held the slot of my favorite movie, and in the two decades or so since, he's continued to make movies that I have very enthusiastically received, The Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar being my favorites from their release years (2008, 2010, 2014).  Although it received a considerable amount of pre-release buzz, in part because it was scheduled to hit theaters the same weekend as Barbie, I had no idea what to expect from Oppenheimer.  I loved his previous attempt at historical, WWII drama, Dunkirk, but it didn't feel like an achievement so much as an experience.  Nolan is very good at experiences, and has at times been on the verge of letting his talents rest of that level alone (here I certainly think of Tenet, which is its own kind of great filmmaking, but not as clear a statement).  Oppenheimer is a complete package.  As social media personality Logan Paul famously lamented, it's pretty much nothing but talking, but it's a tonal masterpiece.  The score certainly helps, but three hours of a perfect score is something even Terrence Malick can't necessarily reliably pull off.  Eventually there needs to be some concrete substance, and that can be found in spades throughout Oppenheimer.

It certainly doesn't hurt the sheer embarrassment of talent, and this is something even I can sometimes get carried away being dazzled by, but Oppenheimer's cast is stuffed to the rafters, and most of its actors are in relatively small roles while the bulk of the film rests on Cillian Murphy (long looking for that one great role, which this is) and a little on Robert Downey Jr. finally proving, once again, he's not just a superhero great at making quips, very deliberately changing his look and most of the time sounding nothing at all like Tony Stark (though happily our Iron Man comes out of his shell now and then), and Emily Blunt resting comfortably in the background until she commands the screen, and Rami Malik echoing that, and Matt Damon playing first supporting role (the man is as near a genius at selecting material as modern cinema has ever found, so often willing to play whatever role he wants it's astonishing that he's also remained a reliable leading actor the whole time), and then there's also Casey Affleck, Gary Oldman and Kenneth Branagh, Jason Clarke...A pair of would-be next generation lead actors, Dane DeHaan and Josh Hartnett, they're here.

Tom Conti, a respected actor from a previous generation, turns in a chameleon role as Einstein, a pivotal if minor one in the movie.  Einstein's role itself in the movie is genius, stepping away from the theatrics of The Prestige's Tesla though hinging on the same basic story structure, of a crucial moment between two characters that must be examined either by the audience or by the story itself to be understood as so crucial, the kind of storytelling Nolan employed in his first movie, Following, that had one of those twist endings that originally made Nolan himself seem as if he might after all be dismissed as a gimmick, as M. Night Shyamalan was for so long (and so many still believe so today), a fad.  

Oppenheimer is the definitive proof that Christopher Nolan is no such thing.  When Spielberg delivered Schindler's List and then Saving Private Ryan, his own one-two WWII punch, it opened new avenues of appreciation for his talent, and depth of talent.  Nolan, even in his superhero movies, never went broad.  He sought audience approval in scale of spectacle, the way Spielberg did it in the '70s, and never in mere thrills or childlike awe.  For too long Nolan was easy to dismiss because he didn't pursue the "truly adult," the straightforward drama.  Even Dunkirk relies on a series of timelines that robs it of a center beyond the central event.  Oppenheimer is classic Hollywood, a biopic.  Except no one's done it like this before.  

In most of his films, Nolan studied the concept of not just identity but self-identity, and while his characters often find themselves misunderstood, he's never really allowed them to suffer for it, never quite left the impression of an unhappy ending, and yet that's exactly what he does with Oppenheimer, and is thus the answer to why Einstein's brief role in the film is so crucial, why the story keeps circling back to it.  In criticizing the past, Nolan is of course giving us a damning metaphor about the present, since sometimes when you can't state things outright, you have to elucidate another way.  

I've long since stopped worrying about what Christopher Nolan can possibly do next.  Anything he wants.  It's all possible.  Of course he could never make another film, and his work will have already towered over his contemporaries, and the whole history of the medium.  

2022 Capsule Reviews

The Batman

rating: *****

review: As unlikely as this is for me to believe, there are now two visionary depictions of Batman in the movies, The Dark Knight and The Batman.  By the final act, in which Batman realizes his idea of "being vengeance" ended up sending the wrong message, and instead choosing to rescue people in broad daylight, that's a quantum shift in the legacy of the character.  This is the kind of thing that matters when deciding to make yet another Batman movie.  Tim Burton's Batman made it okay to take the character seriously, and now Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves have built on that, which to my mind makes it the most important film of the year.  The idea of the superhero has been one of the leading concepts of the past hundred years of pop culture.  Still done best with this one.

Amsterdam

rating: *****

review: The idea of the adult drama has suffered in recent decades as a popular phenomenon, but this David O. Russell all star ensemble is an excellent reminder of just how important it is to the art of film.  I would stack it up with anyone's idea of Hollywood classics.

The Banshees of Inisherin

rating: *****

review: Colin Farrell got another legitimate classic out of this reteaming with Martin McDonagh and Brendan Gleeson (after In Bruges saved his Hollywood reputation), though it's far darker and less kind to fingers in general.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

rating: *****

review: That this somehow actually won the Best Picture at the Oscars is a kind of miracle, but it's such an interesting and insightful movie, hopefully more people actually watch it as a result.

Three Thousand Years of Longing

rating: *****

review: Another miracle, though it's disappointing that hardly anyone seems to know it happened, even while George Miller, Tilda Swinton, and Idris Elba fired on all cylinders to make it.

Elvis

rating: *****

review: For decades, if Elvis made it into biopics at all they were either on TV or some minor productions, on the whole, they might as well not have happened.  This was a necessary thing, then, that nailed it.  Also, Tom Hanks in one of his character roles.  Not the first.  Probably the one most fans will point to in later years.

Nope

rating: *****

review: Jordan Peele earned himself the title of auteur with Get Out, but owns it with this ambitious meditation on strange phenomena (and other matters).

Top Gun: Maverick

rating: *****

review: Probably the single most telling success story of the year, one very view would have seen coming just a few years earlier, when it seemed Tom Cruise's popular career was over.  Instead he turns in a true classic sequel to one of his earliest and biggest hits.  This is how you know the death of cinema was greatly exaggerated.

Bullet Train

rating: *****

review: In college, at least when I went, there was an obsession with obtaining posters to plaster dorm walls, and one of the themes from the selections would be cult cinema.  I can't imagine Bullet Train not obtaining that status.  Brad Pitt had a whole renaissance year in 2022, and this was its peak.

Where the Crawdads Sing

rating: *****

review: The wide success of the popular novel in the early century led to an explosion of bookclubs to keep it going, which eventually led to the book on which this was based.  Eventually I was smart enough to read that book, and made the even better decision to watch the movie that resulted.  The emphasis on David Straitharn's supporting character, to my mind, makes it a classic.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

rating: ****

review: At this point it's a known fact that this series ended with Secrets, and it's really hard to believe that the studio didn't know it was going to make that call right at the start of production.  There was a hard pivot at just about every juncture, except most of the main characters returning and receiving a kind of closure, with an even bigger emphasis on Dumbledore than the last one.  As a fan of the series and franchise, I think it accomplished what it needed to, though it's still rough to think what might have been.

Avatar: The Way of Water

rating: ****

review: I don't think enough has been made of just how grand these films are as cinematic spectacles.  I mean, it's pretty much the whole point.  With the first one, after a while, people started to wonder why they cared so much, why it made so much money, and so they doubted the much-belated second one would be any kind of success.  But of course it was anyway.  And was just as astounding.  In storytelling, it's not overly special.  But it's pure movie magic.

After Yang

rating: ****

review: A much more quiet but still critical success for Colin Farrell.  There's a neat moment near the beginning where the family dances.  I like that bit.

The Outfit

rating: ****

review: After Waiting for the Barbarians, I became a fan of Mark Rylance, who pulls off another success with this unexpected suspense drama.

Breaking

rating: ****

review: Holy cow, what a spotlight for John Boyega!  In other decades he would've been showered with acting awards.  Somehow not in this one.

Marry Me

rating: ****

review: Jennifer Lopez hit a another popular peak in recent years, and this throwback to her biggest movie successes works, for me, as it happens to costar Owen Wilson, who's been a lowkey favorite of mine for years.

Uncharted

rating: ****

review: Made me actually like the pipsqueak who plays the modern Spider-Man.  A solid riff on what will forever be known as the Indiana Jones archetype.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

rating: ****

review: Jim Carrey declared he was done with acting after this.  If he really is, it's not a bad way to go.

Black Adam

rating: ****

review: People with nothing better to do have been having a field day with the box office failure of this one, saying it's the final nail in the coffin of Dwayne Johnson's popular career.  Most of them have barely any notion of what Johnson's career has actually looked like.  Well, anyway, I loved it.  I think it's an astonishing miracle it got made like this at all, much less the fact that it got made only because Johnson took the role.  

The Bad Guys

rating: ****

review: On Twitter (or whatever you'd like to call it these days), I have one of the creators of the cartoon strip Over the Hedge in my feed.  I bring this up because he's always trying to drum up support for a sequel to the animated film that resulted from it.  I figure The Bad Guys is destined for that kind of fate, a classic of a movie that maybe will never get the respect it's due, much less a sequel.  But it could play out differently!

Ambulance

rating: ****

review: It's kind of hard to believe now, but there was a time when Michael Bay was taken seriously as a filmmaker.  The Criterion Collection even added Armageddon to its highly selective catalog of mostly European cinema and American auteurs.  I haven't always overly interested in his career myself (still have yet to see Armageddon, even!), but I figured if anyone was capable of helping define the cinematic surge that was 2022, it was Bay.  I was right.  Good stuff.

The Contractor

rating: ****

review: A fine spotlight for Chris Pine, an action as well as character drama that allows him to showcase his strengths in both.

The Menu 

rating: ****

review: Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, crazy social commentary...Whate else do you want served?

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

rating: ****

review: Unlike his last solo outing, Puss's belated second adventure leans back into his Shrek origins with more shenanigans and spoof characters.

Crimes of the Future

rating: ****

review: David Cronenberg showing up in a recurring role for Star Trek: Discovery was enough to convince me to have a look at Crimes, which was overly sensationalized (the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie received similar treatment) by sensitive viewers, when it's really a quiet drama about outsiders.

Don't Worry Darling

rating: ****

review: I am not remotely part of the critical cult of Florence Pugh, but this compelling cautionary tale from Olivia Wilde (now I get why Salman Rushdie was so interested in her; y'know, other than the obvious), which also gives Chris Pine a higher profile gig, a nice spotlight.  Harry Styles got the opposite of the Pugh treatment for no discernible reason.

The Lost City

rating: ***

review: This all star ensemble (Sandra Bullock! Channing Tatum! Daniel Radcliffe! even Brad Pitt in a supporting role!) is a fun ride.  I would've tweaked some things here and there.  Still kind of upset Pitt didn't have a bigger role.  Kind of stole the movie for me.  Fun fact!  Bullock and Tatum also both show up in Bullet Train.  Very weird.  Fairly certain they were completely different studios.

Ticket to Paradise

rating: ***

review: Nice to see George Clooney show up in something visible again (and it was also a minor hit!).  Not to par with his best movies, but certainly worth watching.  His costar Julia Roberts, she's worth noting probably, too.  Old school Hollywood definitely felt like asserting itself in 2022.

Moonfall

rating: ***

review: Another callback to the '90s!  It was like Independence Day all over again!

Death on the Nile

rating: ***

review: I read the book before watching the movie.  Usually I call hogwash the notion that the book is always better than the movie.  But I had a hard time forgetting how enjoyable the book was.  I adore Kenneth Branagh making these movies, though.  

Babylon

rating: ***

review: Here's Pitt again.  But it's really mostly just Margot Robbie doing her crazy routine in the most thoroughly old school Hollywood possible.  

Father Stu

rating: ***

review: I was surprised when I heard my dad say he enjoyed this one, since I thought it leaned a little heavily on Father Stu's pre-Catholic days.

Thor: Love and Thunder

rating: ***

review: For me a huge step up from Ragnorak, which everyone who saw it loved, and loathed this one.  You never can tell how these things will play out.  Best Thor movie, and very easily so for me.

The Forgiven

rating: ***

review: I wasn't actually much of a fan of Ralph Fiennes' prior career as a generally mopy movie star, and yet this is a callback to that, with the added bonus of Jessica Chastain joining along for the ride.

The Northman

rating: ***

review: Cult-like success convinced me to watch.  Generally worth it.

Clerks III

rating: ***

review: Haven't technically seen the other two.  Kevin Smith growing nostalgic works on its own.

The 355

rating: ***

review: An all-womens all star ensemble led by Jessica Chastain is probably well worth another look down the line despite being savagely dismissed on original release.

Beast

rating: ***

review: Idris Elba in a family drama highlighted by a vicious fight scene at the end with the eponymous lion.

Morbius

rating: ***

review: People have no idea how often they're manipulated by studios.  Disney is a terrible offender in this.  They hype up their product, and spread bad vibes for any and all competitors.  This isn't conspiracy.  It doesn't always work, too, especially when no one is really going to see a wide success coming.  But you get things like the constant mindless negativity for Sony's Morbius, which is admittedly already an improbable vehicle.  Better than any of the Blade movies ever were, anyway.  Once the machine gears up, people assume their poor opinions of something were self-generated.  Don't know what to tell ya.  Most of you don't work that hard to generate a reaction.  You agree with the consensus, even when it was somehow there before a movie like this was even released.  That's how it works.

Minions: The Rise of Gru

rating: ***

review: This sort of thing will work really well for kids, but for adults the charms of the original (Despicable Me, in case you forgot) suffer diminishing returns the more the series forgets that the whole point was to, y'know, redeem Gru...

Memory

rating: ***

review: A minor though interesting variation in the later Liam Neeson action canon, allowing the reality of his aging to inform some of the drama.

The Fabelmans

rating: ***

review: For me, Spielberg's career becomes increasingly sad as he desperately pleads for the approval of the Hollywood establishment.  This is the guy who redefined the establishment forty years ago.  He has no business worrying about such things.  And yet he does.

Jurassic World: Dominion

rating: ***

review: This is a whole franchise (going all the way back to Jurassic Park itself) that I've never really been overly invested in, and yet they keep making new movies, and so I have a look every now and then, and it's okay.  

Medieval 

rating: **

review: Gosh, I wish Ben Foster had held out for something a little better.

DC League of Superpets

rating: **

review: Will certainly be worth revisiting, but immediately seems to have been worth the trailer, which was really good, and not a whole lot more.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

rating: **

review: I think probably after it lost its original meta plot of Nicolas Cage appearing in a Quentin Tarantino film, I lost most of my actual interest.  But it's still nice that Cage clawed his way back into movie theaters thanks to whatever you want to call the finished results.

The King's Daughter

rating: **

review: Live action Disney that isn't Disney nor adapting any known Disney material.  So it's probably definitely something you can show the whole family and enjoy.  But not remember very clearly later.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

rating: *

review: To me, the definition of insulting is bothering to bring in a collection of cameo characters that you mindlessly slaughter to drive up the threat of the character who isn't even, in the final analysis, the main threat of the movie.  What a truly embarrassing statement on the current state of the MCU.  Astute readers will note I haven't seen all of the recent additions.  I really don't see the point.  Now they're just making it the same as the actual comics.  Which for me have also been widely skippable.  In order to prove their further relevance, they're becoming either further irreverent or mindlessly obsessed with counterfeit legacies.  What joy.

2021 Capsule Reviews

The Last Duel

rating: *****

review: You can tell how lousy critical standards have gotten when a movie that would've been universally acclaimed twenty years ago, been hailed as innovative, and boasted career-defining performances is instead derided, ignored, shunned.  This is a masterpiece.  Besides Matt Damon and Adam Driver you've got Jodie Comer in a career-making role as each of their perspectives is tracked, separately, until the truth (Comer's) closes out Ridley Scott's spectacle (no one has come remotely close to matching him in terms of consistent achievement in historic epics).

The French Dispatch

rating: *****

review: Wes Anderson's most laconic film is basically a glorified anthology, in which he's clearly indulging himself.  Another great film that in any other era would've been celebrated as such.  This is what you get when the pandemic is still happening and streaming services are hogging all the attention.  No perspective.

The Courier

rating: ****

review: My biggest surprise discovery of the year would've been standard acclaim material in any other era: Benedict Cumberbatch in a spotlight as he suffers the depravities at the height of the Cold War.  If I hadn't randomly decided to watch it in the theater early in the year, I probably would never have known it happened at all.

The Green Knight

rating: ****

review: David Lowery has been one of the premier artistic directors of the modern era, but it somehow took for this for the mainstream to notice, and even then it wasn't hailed as the huge achievement it really is.  A classic retelling of a classic tale.

No Time to Die

rating: ****

review: The second and only other time critics actually liked Daniel Craig as Bond (Skyfall, basically a desperate attempt to justify Judi Dench in the franchise) is basically also the only time I didn't.  The audacity of No Time is that it dares to complete the story, which Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace had originally suggested was this version of the character's hallmark.  This, then, is the first time the story has an ending, that James Bond has an actual arc.  It's the Dark Knight Rises of 007.  It's a new wrinkle in the mythology.  

Boss Level

rating: ****

review: Qualifying as one of the miracles of the pandemic was the actual release of the much-delayed Boss Level from Joe Carnahan, which was the first of a one-two punch from him for the year.  A classic example of the time loop genre.

Snake Eyes

rating: ****

review: If not quite The Dark Knight, this is probably the closest we're liable to see anytime soon to G.I. Joe being taken seriously as a cinematic property.  Another unfairly dismissed film from the year.

Die in a Gunfight

rating: ****

review: What I'd like to consider an easy candidate for cult status, a retelling of Romeo & Juliet that also recasts the gang film genre into something more artistically ambitious.

Last Night in Soho

rating: ****

review: A spellbinding time travel experience that combines the unique charms of Edgar Wright and Abya Taylor-Joy.

Settlers

rating: ****

review: For my purposes I include only cinematic releases.  I'm not sure this was, but I don't really care, as it's worth the exception.  A fine space western centering around a young girl struggling to survive terrible circumstances.  Worth considering for cult status for anyone who bothers to seek it out.

Needle in a Timestack

rating: ****

review: Another genre spectacle, this time from John Ridley, involving more time travel hijinks in innovative ways, someone changing the timeline trying to find their perfect reality, and finding poignant results.

Judas and the Black Messiah 

rating: ****

review: Explosive drama featuring a standout lead performance from Daniel Kaluuya that would have been instantly iconic in any other...

The Mauritanian

rating: ****

review: The trilogy of great historic dramas concludes with this look at Guantanamo Bay.  Add Tahar Rahim to the list of those robbed of their just acclaim from the year.

Free Guy

rating: ****

review: This was basically Ryan Reynolds' audition for the Disney version of Deadpool.  A very rare original blockbuster idea for the modern era.

Belfast

rating: ****

review: Kenneth Branagh has been successfully navigating an era in which his kind of career shouldn't still exist, so he got to make a personal film along the way, a throwback to the kinds of movies they were doing back in the '90s.

Dune

rating: ****

review: Denis Villeneuve has stepped away from his solo auteur status to embrace his unique role as a successful director of auteur blockbuster adaptations.  An incredible ensemble of acting talent came along for the ride in this first installment.

Pig

rating: ****

review: The very rare exception to the modern rule that you probably won't personally be interested in Nicolas Cage's further career if you liked him in his earlier stages when he was doing serious material.

Zola

rating: ****

review: I found Taylour Paige to be exceptionally magnetic in this small-scale drama based on a series of tweets.

Copshop

rating: ****

review: If you loved Robert Rodriguez's early films you'll probably enjoy this second Joe Carnahan romp from the year.  Both are also excellent showcases for Frank Grillo, by the way.

Sing 2

rating: ****

review: I came for U2, but it was actually Coldplay that stole the movie for me.  Also some typical but enjoyable animated material around the music.

Death of a Telemarketer

rating: ***

review: Silly and yet enjoyable.  Haley Joel Osment pulls in a supporting role!  He looks like a teddy bear these days.  Put a few more years on him and I think he can use that for a career revival.

Chaos Walking

rating: ***

review: Spider-Man and Rey help each other survive a weird planet.  I think this was interesting.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

rating: ***

review: Maybe if they make enough of these they'll just let Tom Hardy exist on his own wacky terms with his goop doppelganger.

Old

rating: ***

review: M. Night Shyamalan rediscovering his classic footing.  A minor but welcome addition to his filmography.

Every Breath You Take

rating: ***

review: A nice actors' drama revolving around Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, and Sam Claflin.

The Little Things 

rating: ***

review: Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, and Rami Malik in another throwback to the '90s.  Well worth watching these guys work alone.

House of Gucci

rating: ***

review: Come for a much more odd Leto turn in a supporting role, stay for Adam Driver and Ridley Scott in a second, minor triumph to bracket the year together.  Marvel that Lady Gaga doesn't seem as wildly out of place as she did, when not singing, in A Star Is Born.

 King Richard

rating: ***

review: Destined to be known as the movie that led to the Oscars moment, this is also Will Smith's latest attempt to be taken seriously as an actor.  He got the Oscar to show for it.  But he kind of blew the moment anyway.

Our Friend

rating: ***

review: Affleck again, this time with Jason Segal, whose star potential is once again lost in a year that saw no point in paying attention to cinematic releases.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

rating: ***

review: If anything, this gimmick-infused belated sequel knew even better how to be frivolously enjoyable than the first one.

City of Lies

rating: ***

review: Well, it was still mandatory to shun Johnny Depp at this point, so there was no way anyone would admit this Biggie Smalls movie was worth anything.

F9

rating: ***

review: Very surprisingly for me, since I kind of got over John Cena and his shameless mugging years ago, but I think he proved a worthwhile addition to the series.

The Matrix Resurrections

rating: ***

review: I love the original trilogy, all of it.  This is a worthy and clever coda.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

rating: ***

review: Basically this whole era of Spider-Man only exists because the MCU was looking for a boost of interest.  Otherwise it's really had no clue how to justify itself.  This incredibly gimmicky third entry finds it in shamelessly bringing back characters and actors from the prior two.  But it works.

In the Heights

rating: ***

review: No one has a better grasp of smug self-satisfaction as Lin-Manuel Miranda these days.  The storytelling is decent.  He needs to work on writing actual songs.  He's capable.  He just doesn't want to.

A Quiet Place Part II

rating: ***

review: I still haven't seen the first place.  Presented no discernable problem to enjoying this one.

Mortal Kombat

rating: ***

review: A fine pivot into a more serious direction for the franchise.

Profile

rating: ***

review: Far more movies than you'd think believe the gimmick of presenting themselves solely from the lens of social media exist.  This one's worth watching.  It revolves around the horrors of terrorists recruiting unwitting victims.  This one is using herself as bait.

Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

rating: ***

review: Both of these films are enjoyable throwbacks with excellent casts.

Voyagers

rating: ***

review: I'm not overly fond of material that actively seeks to make its audience uncomfortable, and so that's the weakness of this one (it costars Colin Farrell, although he's dispatched relatively early) about teenagers stumbling over themselves to survive a long journey in space.

Black Widow

rating: ***

review: The much-much belated solo film from one of the characters who debuted earliest in the MCU is fairly standard material for the franchise(s).

Nomadland

rating: ***

review: Periodically the Oscars insult the demographic it otherwise abhors by lavishing praise on movies that star Frances McDormand.

Wrath of Man

rating: ***

review: I wasn't really into Guy Ritchie earlier in his career, but I am now, and this was a fine way to help segue to what I consider 2023 being a career year.

Naked Singularity

rating: ***

review: I'll be honest; I really just need to watch this one again.  Mind-bending spotlight for John Boyega.

Reminiscence

rating: ***

review: Between this and The Fountain, Hugh Jackman seeks to corner the market in sleepy high concept dramas.  But it's nice to see him in something, anyway.  Always likeable.

State Like Sleep

rating: ***

review: I actually liked this one starring Katherine Waterston.

Lansky

rating: ***

review: A fine minor mob movie featuring Harvey Keitel and Sam Worthington.

Spiral

rating: ***

review: To get me interested in the Saw franchise again, you really do need an infusion of Chris Rock.

The Virtuoso

rating: ***

review: A nice spotlight for recent Star Trek renaissance actor Anson Mount.  His narration as the start of the movie is itself worth watching to experience.  I guess I just like his voice.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

rating: **

review: Really, even before the climax proves to be an exact copy of the original, I wasn't as wowed as I expected to be by this.

The Suicide Squad

rating: **

review: I'm hoping James Gunn isn't as enamored with his weirder tendencies with his further DC duties than he allowed himself to be with this one.

Till Death

rating: **

review: Proof that Megan Fox is still hot even if she's handcuffed to a corpse.  So there's that.  Really not that bad.  Just not much compared to other movies.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

rating: **

review: There's really nothing wrong with this Angelina Jolie vehicle, either.  Just needed more, I guess.

Godzilla vs. Kong

rating: **

review: I actually haven't seen the whole thing, but from what I did see it seemed much more interested in continuing one of the two monster movies series than both.  But it's both anyway.

Midnight in the Switchgrass

rating: **

review: The latter-day Bruce Willis has now been explained, so we all understand what's happened to the quality of his acting and career.  I caught this one since it was filmed and had its premiere here in Tampa, and has an interesting title.  Will watch again at some point to see if it's worth anything.

Lady of the Manor

rating: **

review: For years now critics have been trying to convince me that Melanie Lynskey is worth more than the character of Rose in Two and a Half Men.  I think this movie officially convinced me otherwise.

Crisis 

rating: **

review: An excellent cast.  Not the firebrand it otherwise wishes it were.

Licorice Pizza

rating: *

review: I'm just not a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, I guess.  I find him needlessly indulgent.  This particular version of his work stars the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is no Philip Seymour Hoffman, but Paul Thomas Anderson will indulge his belief that he is anyway.

The Flash (2023) Review

the rating: ****

the story: Barry Allen attempts to rewrite his own history, and instead breaks the timeline.

the review: It's going to be completely impossible for anything resembling a reasonable popular consensus on the DCEU to exist for years, decades.  Its proximity to the height of the MCU created a huge distorting effect in much the way DC and Marvel in the comics have competed for top placement for sixty years.  Simply put, their coexistence could not be reconciled by the mere weight of pop culture.  The Flash is a last attempt to conclude the DCEU, in the most dramatic way possible, and to my mind a hugely successful one, although it has features that are admittedly hard to appreciate.

Chiefly, its special effects, especially the crucial depiction of the Speed Force, where Barry Allen watches outside regular time the effects of his speedy travels.  After the high water mark of Quicksilver's appearances in the X-Men movies, the superpower of speed was always going to be difficult to depict in a truly satisfying way.  Actually, The Flash opens with a scene that tops them, improbably saving the lives of a bunch of babies while looking like it's the last thing on his mind.  I work with babies.  This is the kind of scene that will win easy bonus points for me.  Otherwise, Barry looks unreal on his feet, in ways Spider-Man never did slinging through New York City in the Sam Raimi movies that set the new bar for the genre twenty years ago.  But it's because, dude's ability is running.  This is never going to look awesome.  Not if you're forced to depict it.  

There's really no way around that.  But the story itself is absolutely killer.  Geoff Johns first wrote this story in the breakthrough event comic Flashpoint, which has already been adapted twice, once in the Flash TV series (third season) and the animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, which like the comic depicted Barry brutally electrocuting himself with lightning to try and get his speed back.  For me this is iconic material.  For me, when Barry has to say goodbye to his mom at the end of the film, it means more than Rocket Raccoon, the b-plot in his starring role for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, gets some kind of comeuppance.  It's earned.  

And around that, you've got Barry, the version of Barry Allen that could only exist as portrayed by Ezra Miller, essentially first and foremost essentially starring opposite himself.  And then you've also got Michael Keaton returning as Batman.  This was heavily promoted in exactly the opposite way as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield showing up in Spider-Man: No Way Home (uh, spoiler?), since you can't hide such a crucial point.  In a lot of ways, it's almost the whole point.  We're in an age where seeing old stars in old roles is supposed to be the selling point.  This isn't even nostalgia but awareness that some franchises were abandoned, or changed, too quickly.  Keaton only made two Batman movies, and while one of them isn't as fondly remembered as the other, everyone was always bummed he didn't appear in the other two.  It's the same impulse that brought Connery back to Bond, eventually, at least for one more movie (even if it's technically unofficial), forty years ago.  This is really nothing new.

The movie climaxes on Barry's fight against himself, a third version who couldn't let go.  It's not really the fight with Zod, the deaths of Batman and Supergirl, although this part of the movie is directly addressing the DCEU, the controversial way Man of Steel ended, the "original sin" that needed erasing a decade ago.  Most MCU movies only ever have the one kind of ending.  Guardians 2 had "Mary Poppins," which is what redeems it for some fans.  That's a rare exception.  Usually the villain is meant to be the villain, and the hero just needs to defeat them.  They don't really learn anything.  They just move on to the next one.  For a long time, that formula worked, and a DCEU trying a different narrative was cognitive dissonance: "That's not what these kinds of movies should be doing!"  They're supposed to be emotionally simplistic.  Their ambition is just building to Thanos!  

In a lot of ways, the implosion of the DCEU resulted in something far more interesting.  The Flash might have been envisioned in its basic shape this way all along, but it has far greater symbolic meaning.  You get to see all those digital cameos, and even the official ones, because this is an ending.  Its story takes on greater resonance for it.  Barry needs to let go, and figure out that it's better that way.  Same, The Flash.  Same.

Asteroid City (2023) Review

the rating: ****

the story: Young achievers are unexpectedly at the heart of an unlikely alien encounter.

the review: So I've really gotten into Wes Anderson, finally, and predictably it's just when critics have gotten over him.  I mean, they've been over him for at least a decade, and I didn't get into him, really, until a few years ago, so it's not that surprising.  Of course I had to see Asteroid City.  Of course it was likely that I would enjoy it.  I expected to like it more, but I definitely liked it.  The appearances of Tom Hanks and Steve Carell actually created a kind of uncanny valley, that breaks the typical mold of total control on Anderson's part.  Most actors who appear in his films fit the mold perfectly; Hanks can't help but be Hanks, and the same is true of Carell.  Everyone else (Owen Wilson is atypically absent, but Jason Schwartzman, another longtime collaborator, is back in a starring role) very much fits in nicely.

"You can't wake up if you don't go to sleep."

That's how the movie ends.  This is not a spoiler.  Just as Amsterdam ends with each of the principle characters reciting the eponymous city name to the audience, and Cradle Will Rock builds to the climactic moment from the 1937 play it's built around, Asteroid City concludes with the cast of stage actors reciting this line.  How much you appreciate the movie is likely tied to how much thought you put into it.  The movie preceding it plays out along two separate tracks: one is a presentation of a play, and the other as if the play were happening in reality and not on a stage.  Schwartzman's character pulls himself out of the play when he struggles to understand why his character chooses to burn his hand on a grill, and so clearly Anderson's intent is for his audience to figure out his intent, too.

"You can't wake up if you don't go to sleep."  There will be plenty of speculation about it for those interested, and so maybe this review isn't really the place for it, but the story pretty happily busies itself with the story of Schwartzman's character in the story trying to have an honest reckoning with himself and his young family, something he's been avoiding for the past few weeks.  Eventually an alien shows up (an absolutely perfect moment, a perfect marriage of Anderson's best live action and stop-motion instincts).  Around all this, as Anderson movies tend to go, a niche community (well, in this case, two) is explored, although it's not really the point, but how the community(s) reacts to circumstances.  

Me, I'd choose, if forced, to interpret the point of Asteroid City to warn against comforting complacency, that in order to make progress you have to challenge yourself.  But this isn't possible unless you're first willing to admit your complacency.

At any rate, Hanks and Carell are the signifiers that although this acts and behaves like a typical Anderson movie, it really isn't.  He is very obviously trying to make a point.  It's very possible this will raise Asteroid City's value for me, later, when I will have more fully digested the results.  But it's certainly another excellent effort on his part.

Marlowe (2023) Review

the rating: ****

the story: Private detective Philip Marlowe searches for a dead man.

the review: Some movies get dismissed by critics seemingly without their ever having watched them at all.  I assume Marlowe was simply because it was another Liam Neeson movie in the era of Taken, when he's chosen to star in an endless series of movies of that ilk.  The other reason would be the pointless crusade of the media to protect Old Hollywood by immediately rejecting anything that could possibly evoke it.  Raymond Chandler's Marlowe was of course the character Bogart played in The Big Sleep, one of his Big Three roles alongside The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.  

At its heart Marlowe is of course evoking classic film noire, but not as obviously as, say, the Sin City movies.  It isn't shot in black and white, for instance.  The storytelling beats are all there.  The end of the movie evokes Maltese Falcon, even Raiders of the Lost Ark, making a joke of the whole idea of the maguffin, since the real point was exploring the nasty secrets of Hollywood (apparently no way to make a living making movies these days).  Having recently rewatched The Third Man, I couldn't help but think of Marlowe as more that kind of movie, although of course its inversion, since Third Man famously stars Orson Welles, whom we don't see until about the third act, whereas Neeson is obviously the star of Marlowe and its "third man" is another very capable Mexican actor doomed to be ignored by mainstreatm modern Hollywood (hello, Die in a Gunfight!), who just so happens to sound like Brad Pitt.  The whole point of casting Neeson in a movie like this is to draw on the Taken mystique, to find Marlowe credible in all his story beats.  But Marlowe is otherwise nothing like Taken.  In fact, most of Neeson's Taken movies try to find some interesting variation.  I remember Unknown finding interesting things.  Marlowe has more in common with A Walk Among the Tombstones than Taken.  But critics want Neeson to star in another sad Irish epic like Rob Roy or Michael Collins, or Schindler's List.  Forget that they ignore stellar work in Silence, A Monster Calls.

The director is the reliable Neil Jordan, the screenwriter William Monohan, neither of whose work deserves such casual dismissal.  Neeson has Jessica Lange and Diane Kruger as his dames to kill for, the likes of Danny Huston (born for this role, possibly his best iteration of it, in such a pure state), Alan Cumming, even Colm Meaney, Adawale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (playing the role Dennis Haysbert did in the second Sin City, but a heroic version).

This is a version of classic Hollywood, sure, but the version that was possible to make in 2023.  You don't win any points by claiming "they did it better back then."  There are so many versions of so many stories told over so many thousands of years, you don't win points by stating, "they did it a hundred years ago."  Characters like Marlowe are liable to disappear if they don't resurface every now and then.  Eventually no one will care Bogart played him.  If he's no longer relevant, it doesn't matter.

This is an excellent way to bring him back around again.  If the critics want to contradict themselves and claim there's no point bringing Marlowe back and that it's just another forgettable post-Taken movie for Neeson...It's their loss.  For the art of film, this is everyone's gain.  A movie I was very pleased to press "play" again when there were things I missed.  

2020 Capsule Reviews

Crazy Samurai Musashi

rating: *****

review: Wow! In recent years an increasing number of filmmakers have pursued the "single tracking shot" concept, from Birdman to 1917 to even One Shot, and as far as I'm concerned it's always on the face of it impressive on that level alone.  Musashi is much like One Shot insofar as it's a horribly obscure movie, but it's such a brilliant execution of the concept, one samurai facing off against an entire clan, just a constant stream of sword-fighting, but always staged with keeping the action interesting.  For me I fell instantly and hopelessly in love with the results.  I doubt this even received a theatrical release in the States.  As far as I can tell distribution was negligible, and I only even knew it existed when I saw the movie at Walmart (and since physical media is rapidly declining, the chances of finding something like this outside an equally lucky find at Dollar Tree have only further diminished), and reviews have been hopelessly dismissive.  So this won't even show up in streaming platforms, probably.  I don't care.  I discovered it.  It's now one of my favorite movies.

Waiting for the Barbarians

rating: *****

review: Hollywood, and the press, and critics, often collude in destroying careers, and there's not a reasonable argument against this.  Barbarians costars Johnny Depp, in the period where everyone still believed he was probably the bad guy in the Amber Heard situation.  Now, of course, there's far more wiggle room, but people don't really re-evaulate movies, especially ones that were instantly obscure.  But this is another work of genius.  No doubt in my mind.

True History of the Kelly Gang

rating: *****

review: For me, Russell Crowe was one of the big cinematic heroes of the early pandemic, between his small role here and one of the wide releases that dared open in 2020.  Another hopelessly obscure work of genius.  That's three.

Emma.

rating: *****

review: Anya Taylor-Joy in a joyously inventive revisioning of the classic.

WW84

rating: ****

review: Everyone went gaga over the first one, but I instantly preferred this one, which was a better overall showcase for Wonder Woman, and had a memorable villain or two besides.  The opening sequence alone is a classic, and I guess I'm a sucker for ones showcasing someone in a cathartic flying experience, since I loved that best about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, too.

Tenet

rating: ****

review: Christopher Nolan was cinema's big champion that year, and he was widely criticized for it, but for me all I cared about was that Tenet was as close to matching the action scope of The Dark Knight as he'd attempted to that point.  I also love how it audaciously tackles the idea of combatting terrorism, which is basically the whole point of the movie.  Plus a lot of visual gimmicks to satisfy viewers who still think Inception was his best movie.

Bill & Ted Face the Music

rating: ****

review: One of the pandemic miracles, or so it seemed then, was the appearance of this late third entry in the series, thereby further solidifying Keanu Reeves as a modern master of franchises, if somehow anyone still doubted it.  Probably bolsters the reputation of the whole series.

The Gentlemen

rating: ****

review: Critics kind of fell all over themselves trying to explain why Guy Ritchie no longer had it (they're still trying to make the fatuous argument here in 2023), but at least this played out before the pandemic hit.  For me, a great cast, and a standout supporting role for my favorite actor, Colin Farrell.

Capone

rating: ****

review: I can think of very few actors who without the benefit of some scandal have garnered such undeserved scorn from critics as Tom Hardy.  For anyone else this would've been hailed as a genius showcase.

The Way Back

rating: ****

review: Gavin O'Connor has been one of my favorite directors of the past decade.  Ben Affleck has surprised a lot of people by how much they liked him in the same period.  Here they work together for an affecting sports drama that's heavy on the drama and light on the sports. A great combination.

Sonic the Hedgehog

rating: ****

review: The hedgehog is entertaining, but for me it's a hugely welcome spotlight and return to form for Jim Carrey after years of exile.

News of the World

rating: ****

review: For years I was uninterested in the movies Tom Hanks was making.  For me this was a comeback of interest.  Kind of a later spiritual sequel for Road to Perdition, but one that allows him to have a little fun, too.

Downhill

rating: ****

review: Wow, so Will Ferrell, I don't know if you've noticed, isn't as popular as he once was.  Downhill came and went I think without the pandemic affecting no one noticing.  But it's a great dramatic film for Ferrell, from filmmakers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, both still somehow highly underrated.

Greenland 

rating: ****

review: Gerard Butler can sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) seem as if he chooses projects without regard to quality, but this was an exception, a standout survival drama that feels like a blockbuster in the style of Independence Day, but keeping things at a strictly human scale.

Ava

rating: ****

review: I keep mentioning in these capsules how critics are inexplicably undervaluing major talent, and Jessica Chastain is a favorite victim of this.  Here she's combining her penchant for human drama with the needs of action films.  Another supporting spotlight for Colin Farrell.  He had a banger year for those.  I never have gotten around to seeing the Disney+ exclusive Artermis Fowl, in which Farrell is literally plugged into the movie post-production to try and save it.

Let Him Go

rating: ****

review: One of the benefits of starring in a critic-proof, stubbornly hugely successful TV series like Yellowstone seems to be Kevin Costner gets to once again revive his movie career, and this was well worth his time in doing so.

Unhinged

rating: ****

review: A critical darling for a few years, Russell Crowe fell from grace years ago, and it's only freed him to make increasingly interesting choices.  Here he's an unabashed villain.  Whatever publicity he gets now shamelessly mocks his weight gain, in an era that's supposed to be tolerant of such things.  So you kinda know how hollow such campaigns really are.

The Night Clerk

rating: ****

review: For me much of the early pandemic meant as releases thinned out there was at least a greater chance of minor films getting noticed, and many of them evoked classic Hollywood, and while all the attention of course instead went to streaming services (critics ended up being slavish in their new devotion, so that if awards are given out, they go to streaming releases almost exclusively), films like Night Clerk gave good material to stars like Tye Sheridan.

Bloodshot

rating: ****

review: An attempt at jumpstarting a new cinematic superhero universe for most viewers, even before the pandemic, was instead a nonstarter, with Guy Pearce gamely trying to rub off whatever remaining Memento magic he had on Vin Diesel.  But Vin Diesel never really has fans outside of the Fast & Furious movies, alas, even if he makes decent action movies out of the concepts driving them.

Birds of Prey and the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

rating: ****

review: After the belated popular failure of Suicide Squad (one of those unpopular box office successes), even if Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was an instant icon, it really didn't matter what she appeared in next.  But for the life of me I don't understand ignoring an obvious spotlight like this, and object lesson in proving that no matter what's happening around her, she still shines.

Bad Boys for Life

rating: ****

review: Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return for this belated sequel that revived interest in Smith's career, and wisely acted as if it was basically a Smith spotlight in the style of the bright '00s period of it.

The Burnt Orange Heresy

rating: ****

review: Like Night Clerk a bright throwback spotlight vehicle for a worthy aspirant, this time Elizabeth Debicki.

The Rhythm Section

rating: ***

review: Tagged with some of the worst reviews of the year (and before the pandemic!), this one stars Blake Lively and Jude Law, and it's a movie I'll need to revisit, since I remember liking it, but I have few specific memories of it.

The New Mutants

rating: ***

review: Holds the dubious distinction of being the last of the Fox productions of X-Men movies, with a troubled release date history that no doubt benefited from the pandemic for finally happening.  Not a bad movie by any means, but its existence in a vacuum is disappointing given how most of the other films in the franchise went out of their way to provide some tangible link to the rest of it, usually with a throwaway cameo or two.

The Last Full Measure

rating: ***

review: In a prior era this would've been a standard adult drama anyone would've known existed, but in this one it falls into instant obscurity.  Features the likes of Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Peter Fonda...Worth assembling such talent.

Mulan

rating: ***

review: For me the original animated version was Mushu (as voiced by Eddie Murphy).  This live action version doesn't even have Mushu.  But I guess the greater point of the story still stands.

Archenemy

rating: ***

review: After The Man Who Killed Hitler and then the Big Foot, I kind of wanted another cult-sized experience.  Joe Manganiello, as great as he is, turns out to not quite be Sam Elliott, but the results are still worth a look.

Irresistible 

rating: ***

review: It turns out Jon Stewart reuniting with Steve Carell wasn't quite the second coming of The Daily Show for critics.  But it's still a biting political satire well worth checking out.

The Hunt

rating: ***

review: A totally different political satire!  But worth watching, too!

Jungleland

rating: ***

review: Not quite Warrior.  But worth a look.

The Tax Collector 

rating: ***

review: David Ayer's career plummeted after Suicide Squad.  But that doesn't mean he's any less interesting a filmmaker. If you still like End of Watch, you'll like this, too.

Infidel

rating: ***

review: Jim Caviezel still gamely pursuing the audience of The Passion of the Christ.

Emperor

rating: ***

review: It's a testament to how shallow the movie era is when one of the most famous and infamous figures in American history, John Brown, shows up as a supporting character in this and the results are completely ignored.

The Vanished

rating: ***

review: There was a time when Jason Patric's unusual career choices interested critics.  That time is long past.  But this is another of those, and it's worth a look.

Fatman

rating: **

review: Mel Gibson has been pumping out b-movies.  They're not all terrible.  In fact he's made some brilliant choices!  But this Santa Claus thriller ain't necessarily one of 'em.

Legion

rating: **

review: Mickey Rourke was another critical darling tossed to the scrapheap whenever the mood struck them, and this is another lean period.  It was suggested his turn here was an embarrassment.  It isn't, and it's also the best reason to watch.

Robert the Bruce

rating: **

review: Another very belated sequel!  This one sees Angus Macfadyen reprise his most famous role, from Braveheart.  This one's less rousing.

The Empty Man

rating: *

review: Very, very unfortunately, James Badge Dale cashed in all his chips from his small-scale career revival for this mainstream horror movie.  If I ever try watching it again, it'll again and this time emphatically be for Dale alone.

The Warrant

rating: *

review: I remain a big fan of Neal McDonough, who I first saw in Star Trek: First Contact and later starred in the brilliant but short-lived TV series Boomtown.  This is a low budget western.  Alas.