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millerian-55
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Big movie fan, I try to watch more than 200 movies a year if I can. Some years (since 2020), I have been able to break that goal by a lot. But some years I will barely hit 200 . But I will always rate the movies I see, and I will put every single one onto my lists.
My all-time favorite movie: Goodfellas.
My all-time favorite TV Show: The Leftovers
Check out my 2023 list to see daily updates on movies I watched and their ratings.
My Blog: https://iantalksaboutmovies.wordpress.com/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/njdevils9011/
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Every Movie I watched in 2019 (and their ratings)
Reviews
Verbrande brug (1975)
Beautifully performed and directed underseen drama
A relationship broken and corrupted by the prospect of outside romance, i've seen this before and it appears many times on this list, but this is a new avenue to how it is structured and made, this takes entirely in a 24 hour span after a carnival that is held by charel and monique, a married couple, after the carnival monique has meets back with louis again in an abadoned car and the resulting aftermath for lack of a better word is destructive, it is brought forth by a series of excellent performances, jan decleir and doris arden who find a pitch perfect wavelength to showcase two tired, broken individuals who are not stuck in a marriage, but simply going through the motions that plague them, decleir portrays a sort of sadsack, a good father but a man who can't keep a job and is consistently plagued by arrogance and frustration, arden shows a great mother, but a woman who seems to long for the past, when she was younger and is not faced with the prospect of working two jobs to keep the family afloat for the both of them, separated, the two performers are consistently wonderful, arden with great sensuality, and decleir with great pointed arrogance and exhaustion, together they have an utmost chemistry that is right on the money for a married couple of their stature, they aren't exactly broken apart, but they aren't exactly happy either, this is also brought together by guido henderickx's fantastic direction, which is centered perfectly in the art of the slow-moving tone, there are multiple scenes where he locks down the camera and allows the actors to act, especially in the beginning and ending, but in the middle part of the film is where the characters are moving and he is moving with them, the large scene in both the carnival and the big palace, is where henderickx's blocking is consistently glorious and his camera movements manages to switch through so many points of views in the span of such a single location, this is a great example of when emotions are high henderickx's blocking is more performative and moving, the scene where charel beats up louis, and the aftermath of the violence in the bar, where he literally brings charel and monique together through the camera, having no focus on charel, and then having focus on the both of them at the breakfast table in the end, obviously because i am me, i tend to love the direction where he locks down the camera and lets slow-moving dialogue scenes take over, showcasing the monotony of their daily lives, and when something adventorous happens, it is shown with brutality in the openness in his camera movements, but the best scene of the entire film that is shown in almost one long take, is where henderickx puts the camera on arden and where monique breaks down outside of a bathroom stall in which louis is in, pleading for love and to be loved again by louis, louis never opens the door, and through arden's piece of performance we get a destroyed human being, it is not over-the-top, it is all of the emotions boiling to the surface in wonderful ways, destructive and longing all at once, the acting in this is consistently genuine, believable, and beautifully put together by everyone, everytime i watch an unknown film like this i always arrive at the idea that most films with unknown actors to me are easier to watch and observe, this is helped by henderickx writing the screenplay as well, which has a wonderful loose structure, but the dialogue is consistently rich and beautiful, these are fully formed and wonderfully realized characters from a filmmaker who witnesses them through his writing and through his camera, directed and written with understated affections that i seem to love every single time.
Born to Ride (1991)
Great companion piece with Top Gun: Maverick
A bizarre item, a war film, an 80s shoot-em-up action film, and a biker film all rolled into one, graham baker made one of my favorites of 2022, impulse, and both of these films operate under that same level of precise, stripped down filmmaking that i tend to love, and here it is in all of its purest forms, with no level of schmaltz or care for over-the-top emotional moments, just a film focused on its task at hand, a 87 minute film that is just focused on structure and design, baker's direction is fantastic, he formulates what is obviously an early 1990s film, but uses the excellent wide screen photography of the war films from the 1960s, the blocking on display is wonderful, along with his excellent care for the editing, and the precision involved, included with that is his use of music, the score is surprisingly great, but it is about how he doesn't utilize music in the war sequences and in the emotional, dramatic moments, most of this film plays with a great care for atmosphere, the film puts out a certain feeling that is easily transferrable, with impulse, baker also added a certain level of atmosphere but also a weird balance in that film and this where the romance almost seems to act upon the exteriors of the structure of the film, the romance isn't the goal for both main characters in these two films, it is about the goal of the story and how that story will effect the character, so structurally similar to top gun: maverick except it has all the fat trimmed out, a young hotshot has to face a superior who looks down at him, but grows his superior's respect, has a romance with a woman nearby, and has to teach a group of hotshots, and eventually gets involved in the mission himself, it is great stuff, the screenplay is structured with profficiency, and what it is great is that baker cares about the drama at hand, but he never overplays it, relentless and yet still slow and observational, exactly the opposite to equalizer 3, and a great film to watch after that for comparison's sake, also john stamos is great, he's got great charisma, with none of that swarmy irritation that his full house character provided, and teri polo is also a true movie star here, beautiful, but with a great sense of care for drama that was always, unfortunately underplayed in the meet the parents franchise, like i've said before, 'failures' from the past will always be more interesting in the future, and graham baker here proves to me that he's one of the precise, assignment directors who adds a touch to his films, precisely designs it through efficient blocking and editing, and finds a great film all the same.
Bootlegger (2021)
Fantastic Canadian Independent Drama
Childhood trauma leading to adult ostracism. The events in our young life and the ways in which we still pay for the consequences, mistake or not. A young native girl coming back to her native community and shaking up the system. Protesting the ways in which the system is run, and the contested fury that comes from a childhood mistake & the mom who has also reaped the consequences. Two opposing ideals but really about the desire to revive a community beset by tragedy, the native community being beset by this tragedy and a native american girl who dare tries to bring back some sort of life. The beauty in which she sees her own community & sees what she needs to do. Performances are fantastic, the main girl brings such depths of sadness in her facial cues & expressions, we get each moment of realization and heartbreak without her having to say a word. A community of just great actors feeling entirely believable, even the little pranksters that prank everyone feel so indebted to real life that it doesn't even come out as phony or forced. The white woman in this community is beautiful played, a entire history of sadness & tragedy on her face & in her body language perfectly shown. A person seemingly hurt & destroyed by her own mental state. Camerawork feels so wonderfully understated, using the sense of lighting patterns that feels so atmospheric yet never feels too dark like a lot of bigger movies tend to feel. The burning house is wonderfully used as a visual motif but is just impeccably shot, not showing too much each time but allowing enough visual information to feel the sense of heartbreak & anguish. Another classic case of a great sense of character writing & never telling us what we already know, a filmmaker who trusts her audience & their capacity to understand the film. The ways in which not just the white woman character changes & the main lead changes is so perfectly done. But my favorite arc that is so beautifully done that manages to never feel schmaltzy is the husband to the white woman's character, he's so quiet & seemingly angered towards the lead but comes to see her perspective & grows out of his cynicism to finally help revive the community & reach deep down into her inner native american past & heritage. A movie about finally realizing who you are & reviving loved ones who have seemingly died while still living. The living dead, shocking them back to life with embracing of your own heritage & finally putting some motivation and spark into the stasis from which they buried themselves into. Not giving up, and finally starting to live again. Also fantastic example of a film managing to make a community and a town a seemingly full-fledged character in and of itself, your not only saving people you are saving something else entirely. And a lead character with trauma, growing from that trauma and finally making peace with the ones you hurt. Alcohol also being a pathway to abuse, neglect, death, and corruption. We let it be free & legal in our society & watch it tear us apart. A community being torn apart by a substance that wouldn't be legalized if it was newly released today. Also the irony but eventual change as she realizes she's being ostracized for a past mistake yet bootlegging crimes are treated with normality. Indie cinema remains as some of the most emotionally felt, heartbreaking, and beautiful cinema nowadays.
Bluebird (2013)
Mesmerizing drama shot on 35mm
One of those understated dramas that come out and no one sees them, but I think there are approximately 100 on this list alone. Fantastic set of performances from a series of "I know them" actors, who you've seen in something but just can't nail down their names. Amy Morton plays the lead and like usual she is fantastic, a character actor who is finally given the chance to shine as a bus driver who forgets a young kid on a bus, who then freezes to death. Fantastic use of 35mm to create such a dusk atmosphere, Edmands has a wonderful sense of control and uses the whites of the snow to make the landscapes seem endless. A very wonderfully smart screenplay combined with smart direction, each scene plays out for the actors to take control, and creates an acting showcase. Very subtle and very dark, depressing but remarkably beautiful in the way the characters form.
Elvis! Elvis! (1976)
Moving and engrossing forgotten drama
Of course i loved this, forgotten films, with low budgets, slow pace, unknown actors, are basically my star trek or deep obsession which i don't think i'll ever shake off, this is what cinema is all about, to start, the elegance of the direction from pollak is mesmerizing to say the least, he relies on a series of long camera set ups, there is specific scenes that are meant just to get to one place and the actors follow the camera along with it, it feels like every scene has a structure and that structure is enacted to perfection by everyone, it goes well with how pollak uses the wide screen frame to utilize blocking, the specific shot i love is when elvis stands by the mirror, and pollak moves the camera so that elvis is on the left, and the mirror is on the right which reflects the image of the mother berating elvis, it is perfect not only in its beauty of the use of blocking, framing, and movement, but it also works a story function, the mother is so distant from her son and he refuses to listen to her, that she may as well be talking to a mirror, separation is present throughout the whole film both visually and thematically, pollak uses these elements as a foundation of the overall pace of the film, bringing each scene to a beginning middle end, it is almost like a domino effect, and that is what a script should be, specifically for a stripped down film like this one that is about the artifice of change of the broodingly paced aesthetic, relying also on lele dorazio's terrific child performance, especially considering this is a 95 minute film where every scene is with him, which is a great way to make a film like this, and it helps that dorazio is able to rely mostly on its use of facial expressions and body language to carry sequences, which he does spectacularly, also going with lena-pia bernhardsson's glorious performance as elvis's mother, who is either on the verge of breaking down or in the middle of breaking down, they bounce of off each other really well, and overall the entire film is filled with great character actors, you start to realize cinema really rests greatly with underseen films, obviously this is a little bit higher brow than modern unseen films shot on camcorders, but that doesn't change the fact this has around 70-80 ratings on this site, and on imdb it has around 100-200, a forgotten film but the type of cinema that lasts and there feels like there is a character to it that not many studio or popular films have nowadays, next to argylle this is everything that film doesn't have, there is no reliance on overly comedic scenes, the drama here is taken seriously, and in many ways i felt like i was watching real people which is a great compliment i can give any film, the blocking and framing was excellent and cleverly done in almost every scene, the sense of slow pacing formed this into a frequently mesmerizing and heartbreaking piece of cinema, the lack of music combines well with the excellent and simple sound design, edited with a great precision, and every single actor in this is tremendous, films like these are a reminder of what makes cinema great in the first place.
The Huntress: What Ralph Left Behind (2000)
It's cheesy, lame, kind of bad, yet I loved it
Now before I write a review of this, I must first state that my love for this is strictly based on some level of irony, and genuinely thinking this is quite good. This is apart of my ongoing experiment to review the first episode of forgotten, canceled crime TV Shows.
The performance by Annette O'Tootle & Jordana Spiro are genuinely great, spunky, fun, and a great sense of attitude that is reminiscent of Thelma & Louise. They also have a great rapport as mother & daughter, and both actors manage to give genuinely emotional performances away from one another.
The direction is sloppy, laidback to a hilarious degree, yet because they are shooting on film, and because shooting on film takes an element of craft from the director. There is still a lot of wonderful blocking in this, and so many shots look so darn pretty, a really well-lit episode as well. It has got a great energy & pace to it that keeps it moving well.
This is Pamela Norris' show through & through, and honestly the character work & the dialogue is a large part of what makes this episode incredibly fun. She writes the two leads perfectly, and creates a very witty episode that I think will properly build upon itself.
I think this might be because I miss when TV was 1. Shot on film 2. In 4:3 3. Trashy and not "art", but this went down like a great meal, it might be trashy & bad in certain ways, but this is an episode of a TV show I would watch 8 seasons of.
Tucker's Witch: The Good Witch of Laurel Canyon (1982)
A gem that is hard to find, but worth watching
Not sure why I came out watching this show, but it was highly advertised (or placed well) on Tubi. TV and I'm always willing to give canceled & forgotten TV shows a shot. I was shocked at entertaining, well-made, perfectly cast, and extremely well-written it was, I've seen 3 episodes and I'm going to finish in the near future, but this is a unfortunately & undeservedly forgotten show.
The writing and casting is where this show stakes its claim for greatness. The two leads are wonderful, and every single side character is extremely well-cast. The writing is consistently whipsmart & intelligently written with wonderful dialogue, the mystery actually unfolds in an interesting way & the show takes its time to get there purposefully.
Maybe it is shooting on film, but something about the look of these older TV shows are much more preferable to even great TV shows now. There is a crisp nature to the visuals, and a good amount of this is wonderfully cinematic, including the nighttime shooting.
A great pilot but a great show as well, a gem you have to watch on Tubi. TV but it is worth watching either way.
Good Behavior: So You're Not an English Teacher (2016)
A genuinely great piece of crime/noir television
I don't really review or watch Television, heck I don't really review movies either, but I felt compelled to review this because I was shocked at how good it was. The type of noir, crime, thriller television, novel, or film I can appreciate in any piece of media, and this time it just happened to be an episode of television.
The direction from Charlotte Sieling is very surehanded, and the way she films and lets tension sequences play out are incredibly well-done, and exactly what I look for. She has a great feeling for how this type of show should run and credit to her for understanding how to make it happen properly and without overplaying the noirish elements of it.
This is helped well by the actors involved, Michelle Dockery is from Downtown Abbey and is a 4-time Emmy nominee; this is honestly the role she was born to play. She nails the noir tone, but she also manages to perfectly combine femme fatale with strong female protagonist really well, without ever letting it become too campy or too pointed. She is what makes this particular pilot come alive, and if I were to ever continue with this show it would entirely be because of her.
The writing from Chad Hodge & Blake Crouch is also great, with constantly great twists and turns. The structure of this particular pilot can be a little bizarre, but it is all purposeful toward the eventual, unnerving ending.
Since I don't really watch Television, this might be where I start and stop, but this is still an incredibly well-done piece of crime television, and if I were to consider it a "movie", it would be among my favorite movies of 2023. Precise crime direction, writing, and acting.
Yakuza zesshô (1970)
An offbeat, but wonderful gem
A very interesting and bizarre discovery. Basically, the story is Scarface (1932) but the incest element is turned up to eleven.
But what really makes this movie is the performances, Katsu and Otani are excellent and have wonderful chemistry to a point where you believe they are siblings and there is always that tension between them that is well-handled. The characters are well-written and fully developed to allow these scenes to play out well though. I love the arc that Katsu's character Minoru takes through this movie, turning from an aggressive Yakuza member that fights anyone who goes after his half-sister, Akane. In the end, coming to understand that in order for Akane to live her life he must let himself die so that his commanding presence no longer keeps her from living her life. And while Minoru is a character that is hard to sympathize with how many people he beats up for merely inconveniencing him, his backstory is not fully explained, but Masumura does a great job at presenting a tragic life that Minoru seems to be trying to have Akane escape out of. He can be a major asshole, but despite the tragic life he has led, he is still willing to work in the Yakuza just to keep Akane from ever living the life he has led. He's a noble man who doesn't realize that the problems he faces can sometimes be his own fault as well, there is even a scene when he is confronted for blaming his mother for his problems, and of course, he hates facing the fact that he deep down can be responsible for himself. It's incredibly tragic and saddening
I love how the Minoru character is handled though, he is not a John Wayne badass who just shoots and hits everybody, (although he does plenty of that) he's a deeply insecure man who lashes out when feeling like his manhood or Akane is threatened (and therefore his manhood) which is beset by the upbringing he had to endure. And Katsu does a great job presenting this character as exactly that.
The movie is also incredibly well-framed, obviously, the fight scenes are fantastic, due to the sheer brutality. But even in simple dialogue scenes, Setsuo Kobayashi's cinematography utilizes wonderful framing, most of the time with 3 characters in the same shot layered to get everyone's reaction (which well informs the scenes).
This is not an "action" film as it is referred to on IMDB, the fight scenes are great, but the movie is way more of a deep character study on these tragic people beset by tragic upbringings. It's a weird film, with an offbeat pace, but it has great performances, beautiful framing, and excellent character writing. This is a gem that might not be for everyone, but it's worth watching simply because it's an incredibly well-made movie.
La horse (1970)
An underseen gem
A movie about a very simple but strong-minded man. Gabin is excellent in the lead role, as your typical annoyed, but sort of solemn old man who only cares about his duty to protect his family. The movie really does a great job developing and visually presenting his relationship with his children and grandchildren, he's in charge, and whatever he says, goes.
I love when a character can rule and command people simply through his mannerisms and the way he presents himself. Despite having decades on most of his family, and even the drug smugglers he finds himself in battle with, he always manages to be intimidating to them through sheer resilience and presence.
The way the movie is structured is handled very well, we start out with a crime thriller-esque plot where he takes turns fighting this drug smuggling gang, and the movie switches gears and sort of becomes a legal or investigative movie where we see how his family has been instructed to act in the face of law enforcement (don't say anything). And despite having those elements, the movie still manages to have a wonderful sense of humor, sometimes very dark, but mostly just situational humor that's very well done. And while it manages to be tense throughout, the comedy is wonderfully woven in, where it never feels phony or stale.
In a lot of ways, this film feels almost like an old-timey Western, and John Wayne being in Jean Gabin's role wouldn't be that shocking, but what this movie does differently is that it takes the 70s era realism and adds it to a very Western-esque scenario and plot to create something that is incredibly engaging. And like many Westerns, I really loved how the movie was presented and framed in its cinematography, with lots of wide shots with beautiful blocking, through simplicity. There's a shot after the drug smugglers attack his cows with their truck, and at the end of that scene is a beautiful shot of a dead cow in the foreground and the truck leaving in the background, showing the damage they left behind.
After watching a lot of Hollywood or American movies recently, I've noticed that I've grown tired of the lack of genuine nature and artificiality in these movies. This is why watching this movie was so refreshing, every element of this movie feels real and genuine, and the disturbing stuff that happens is genuinely shocking because it looks and probably is, real.
The Lords of Salem (2012)
A genuine surprise
I'll be upfront here, I'm not a big fan of Rob Zombie, he seems like a nice guy and a genuinely giving person considering how willing he is to put his friends in his movies. But I have only liked one of his films up until this film, The Devil's Rejects, I absolutely despite his two Halloween films and found House of 1000 Corpses to be relatively below average and immature.
But this genuinely kind of blew me away. Gone are the horribly nauseating camera work, with constant shaky cam and close-ups of actors' faces. And gone are the purposefully disgusting and dark-colored visuals of his previous work. This movie is genuinely quite gorgeous, I'm not sure if it was shot on film but it has this grain that a lot of movies that are shot on film have. The camerawork is simple, straightforward, and quite elegant, I'll be honest that some of the shots in this reminded me of the way Kubrick would shoot scenes in The Shining, where the camera would just slowly pan straight as it moves through spaces creating and building a creepy and unpredictable atmosphere.
The plot is relatively simple, as it's Sherri Moon Zombie being the vessel for the Anti-Christ for this coven of modern-day witches. But her character is quite interesting, she's a DJ of this sleazy shock jock radio show, and she's a person who has previous drug problems. Not exactly perfect character stuff, but for a horror film mostly relying on visuals, it's everything you really need. Other things that help this movie, is that the characters and actors are no longer screaming like in Zombie's previous work, this may be Zombie's attempt to make a serious, well-made horror film. And if that was his goal or his attempt, I think he certainly delivered on it.
It's not huge on the plot, but the way Rob Zombie directs scenes and frames the shots and has them lit is genuinely quite beautiful. And absolutely miles better than his previous work. The disturbing visuals are mesmerizing in ways you rarely see in horror films nowadays. I haven't seen "3 from Hell" or "31" yet, but if they are as well-done as this one I genuinely can't wait. This has got a pretty low rating on IMDB, and it's seemingly forgotten in the past decade (rests at about 30k User Ratings), but I think is one of those horror gems that seemed to be passed over, that horror buffs and even people who are just into film would appreciate.
Crimes of the Future (2022)
Methodical and not for everybody
David Cronenberg's new body horror film is not gonna impress most audiences, it will leave them confused, annoyed, angered, and frustrated (name any verb and it would be true). This is mostly due to the movie's almost extremely slow pace, lack of action, and kind of confusing storyline.
And while those things I mentioned might frustrate most audience members, I found that aspect of Cronenberg's style in this film to be incredibly entrancing and fascinating. When a movie's pace is almost deliberately an antithesis to most modern movies, it intrigues me and keeps me engaged throughout. And this movie is certainly intriguing and kind of fascinating to enravel.
I will admit while I was entraced by the movie, I'm not entirely sure I understand every hint of subtext that Cronenberg was going for. But I can certainly understand the basis of it, the food and water we digest is filled with microplastics and it will very likely will be passed down into genetically into multiple generations afterward. And to no surprise, the government is out to destroy any knowledge of this happening, to avoid a massive panic. Which is of course very similar to the cover ups we've seen concerning climate change and effect of plastics on humans by world governments. That eventually found its way out.
And while the ending might confuse people or annoy them for being relatively anti-climatic and non-Action heavy. I think its a pretty great bookend to the thesis of the entire film, and that final shot is quite wonderful, essentially depiciting a man who needs machines to help him eat, eating plastic and his body being fully accepting of it showing the human evolution has gotten to the point of the excepting of the unnatural.
Along with "Videodrome", Cronenberg uses Sci-Fi body horror elements to depict the changing of the guard in real life in harmful ways to human psyche and body. And while I can't say his approach is exactly perfect and while definitely be hated by audiences, I will admit that it is quite a mesmerizing watch.
Mulholland Dr. (1999)
Not the movie, but still very well-made
So the backstory of this TV Movie/Pilot is well-told, Lynch made this as a pilot for ABC. ABC didn't want it, so Lynch moved on. But, it still lingered in his mind a year afterward and decided to rework it into a feature film.
And while this pilot is missing some of the best elements of the Film, it is still a well-acted, well-directed, well-shot, and thrilling TV Movie that has scenes that pretty much all ended up in the final feature film in 2001.
And even with the poor quality of the copy I watched, it is still incredibly entertaining and there is a perfect atmosphere that lingers throughout the 89-minute runtime. I don't think this would have worked well as a TV Show, and it turning out to eventually be made into a feature is something that was the best thing that could have happened to this story, David Lynch, Naomi Watts, and Justin Theroux.
The full pilot is on YouTube if you want to check it out, for a pilot it is quite amazing and I believe you won't regret watching it.
The Ladykillers (2004)
Not as bad as everyone says
Now this movie is not exactly great, the story continues at a very, almost annoyingly slow pace. And Tom Hanks is embarrassing in the lead role. But I for one thought the movie was entertaining, and not nearly as bad as everyone seems to think.
While I don't like Tom Hanks in this movie, I think the supporting actors make this film and are wonderfully cast and hilarious. Marlon Wayans in particular continues to show in this movie how his downfall in popularity has so much to do with his awful creative choices, he's a solid actor under the right director and he serves the material well here. Also, Irma P. Hall delivers a terrific comedic performance that I think makes the film a particularly memorable one for me. She's asked to do a lot, and she does everything so well.
And with every Coen Brothers movie, the look of the movie is exceptional and terrifically understated. The use of wide angles lenses and harsh gray lighting is beautifully done in this movie.
While this movie is not exactly "great", I think it's a very entertaining movie that is funny and has wonderful performances from the supporting actors.
Also, the Coen Brothers "worst movie" is still better than the majority of Hollywood movies being made.
Burn After Reading (2008)
One of the funniest movies ever made
The Coen Brothers seem to have a catalog of movies that are both beloved and highly underrated. And no better example of the latter than Burn After Reading.
Despite the solid 7.0 Rating and the 63 on Metascore, which are all positive, especially for a mainstream US movie. I think this movie is highly underrated by both film critics and audiences. This film works under a very particular type of weird, deadpan comedy that seems to be unloved by a majority of general audiences. But I personally consider this movie to be not only one of my all-time favorites but a tremendously hilarious film filled with wonderful writing and performances.
While Brad Pitt is obviously the standout in this film, I think this film is helped a lot by the casting of the supporting actors. Richard Jenkins is my favorite of the supporting actors, and he again shows how underrated of an actor he is. He steals the show in a very nervous and insecure performance that works very well for the character.
The writing is truly exceptional, and the way every single subplot works to connect with the main story is beautifully done and is brought together wonderfully for a hilarious, but poignant ending.
If you like deadpan, awkward humor this will work very well for you. But even if you don't find the humor all that funny, this is still a very well-acted and written, and most importantly, entertaining.
The Irishman (2019)
Gets better every single time
The first time I saw this movie, the runtime was intimating and I watched the first half being bored out of my mind. I finally finished it months later on Netflix, and I thought it was really good.
But the film continued to stick in my mind, and I decided to give it another watch and it went from "really good" to "pretty great". And just a couple of days ago I watched it for the 3rd time in the past 3 years, and now I officially see this movie as a near-masterpiece.
Almost every single thing about this movie is perfect, the acting is amazing, the script is well-structured, the editing is superb (which is usual for a Scorsese movie), and the score is incredibly underappreciated as one of its best elements. The blues music that is used for the theme adds a wonderful sense of dread that continues to play throughout the movie.
The usual complaints about this movie are "boring", "too long", "special effects bad", and "body language is distracting". I can only really agree with one of those, and that being the body language is very distracting at certain points throughout the movie. Scorsese has cast his favorite actors in parts they were too old to play before, but it stands out in a film where sometimes the characters are moving quite a bit. But, I can't agree with the rest, "boring" is such a dumb claim to me that really stands out just how short people's attention spans are (not just young people too). Also, "too long", is an even worse claim because every single element and scene in this movie is purposefully in the film to be built upon later. But, again people don't realize that, and just want simple and obvious payoffs they get from every blockbuster nowadays.
But despite the complaints about the movie, the movie on its own is terrific. There are scenes in this movie that will stick with me forever, this is a genuinely more mature work than any of the other Scorsese mafia/gangster films (although I like/love them all). The ideas of past mistakes, forgiveness, and living a financially fulfilling, yet empty life is beautifully woven into this film. It is very clear that this is a love letter from Scorsese to not only these types of movies but movies in general. Although Scorsese has another movie coming out and will most likely continue to make movies in the future this movie feels like a finality to his career, he put his absolute all into this movie, and Pacino, Pesci, and De Niro were right there along with him.
Serial Mom (1994)
Underappreciated, Satirical Dark Comedy
It gets more hilarious and better every time I think about it. The prank call scenes deserve to be more iconic than they are, they're so freaking hysterical. For a comedy this movie is hilarious and for a thriller, it's genuinely thrilling. I really don't understand the low ratings of this one, especially on IMDB, did people going expecting something different from John Waters? But I digress.
In terms of performances, Kathleen Turner is the perfect star to be in a John Water vehicle. It makes me sad to see her fall out of the limelight because every movie I've seen with her, she's easily been the best part, she is so charismatic and she is perfectly cast in this movie.
In addition, the satirical elements of modern mass obsession with real crime stories couldn't be more apt and wonderfully woven into the story. It really adds to the story, and keeps it from just being a great comedy.
And speaking of obsession with real crime stories, I do wonder what John Waters thinks of the glut of Ted Bundy documentaries and movies that have come out recently.
Narc (2002)
Very Underrated Movie
Genuinely terrific.
Ray Liotta and Jason Patric have terrific chemistry. And Ray Liotta delivers a performance on par with Goodfellas in this movie.
I love the way it's shot as well, it gives such a gross, uncomfortable feeling to the movie that is started with the opening sequence that is perfect. This establishes the main character and his devil may care attitude and his background.
And the character writing in this film is absolutely phenomenal, the character do actions that actually make sense and there are reasons for them that are explained or revealed. We understand these characters as people and not pawns for the writer's fun action sequences.
It's such a well-made movie, this and The Grey give me hope that Joe Carnahan can make something as great in the future.
Affliction (1997)
Underrated Masterwork
With Paul Schrader coming back and making well-made movies with First Reformed and Card Counter. I think looking back on it, Affliction is forgotten way too much when we talk about Paul Schrader.
Nick Nolte is absolutely out of this world in this movie. And it reminds me that Nick Nolte is also forgotten way too much when we talk about "great actors". He came back with "Warrior", we talked about him again, then we forgot about him again. But in this film he portrays this character like no one else would or can, slightly out of it, he accurately portrays this character who slowly loses his mind right in front of us. And he wasn't exactly all there, to begin with.
And can we talk about how the setting for this film being so perfect? A great filmmaker is not only one of course someone who can make a great film but realizes that making a great film is all in the details, even the ones that are overlooked like locations. Locations can impact the mood and atmosphere of a film, and sometimes even can become a character in the movie. And Paul Schrader recognizes that which is why he perfectly placed Affliction, First Reformed, and Card Counter in the exact locations they should be in.
This film is a near-masterpiece but I rarely see it even mentioned among the greats from the '90s. There are films out there that can be referred to as "Lost to Time". And this is definitely one of them.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Well-made movie that feels very empty
This is a pretty late review, but this is a movie I've been meaning to talk about for awhile. And after finally rewatching the movie for the first time I can safely say this is a very well-made movie.
It's incredibly well-acted and well-shot. But, unfortunately I feel absolutely nothing about it. The second time watching it, I realized that in a sort of an anamoly, I don't have feelings when watching the movie. I don't feel scared, excited,
intrigued, or at all connected to anything that is happening on screen. Which is a sharp contrast to Egger's last movie The Witch where I felt almost every single emotion during that entire movie.
I think the biggest reason why is that The Witch had an incredibly well-developed and interesting list of characters, specifically Anya Taylor Joy's character who I felt for the entire movie and all that she goes through. But for this movie the characters are sort of developed and are interesting, but there's nothing to connect to with them. I know that all movies don't have to have a huge amount of character development, but in a horror movie I absolutely believe there should be. Because when characters are put in perilous situations, we should care if they make it out or not.
I really wanted to love this movie, but the second time watching it I realized that it didn't do anything for me. I'm really glad people are so into this movie and love it so much. Because these are the types of movies that should be made, but unfortunately this movie does nothing for me, which is a darn shame.
Rating: 7/10
Relic (2020)
Not a "horror movie", but a deeply saddening family drama
This is a movie that's been my radar all year long. It's got solid reviews, it's a horror movie, and it's a movie that seems like one that is handled with complete class. Where the director-writer cares about what they are making.
And after watching the movie I can safely say that the movie definitely was handled with class. Let's first start out with the acting, everyone is this one movie is incredibly solid. With the actress playing the Grandmother probably being my favorite of the main three. She really manages to perfectly convey the complete emotional and mental swings that a person with dementia goes through. One moment she's her normal self and absolutely refuses any help from her daughter or granddaughter, and the next she seems like she's barely there and she almost is like in limbo. Where she's alive and breathing but her mind is in a completely different place.
Next, let's talk about the cinematography. While I liked the cinematography quite a bit, I will admit that these low-budget classy horror movies nowadays seem to always follow the perfect center of framing shots. While I'm not complaining as I love cinematography that seems well-planned out and has some structure to it (as I do for screenplays), it's just that I guess I would like some variety in how the shots are framed. But, overall a very well-shot movie that is also very well-lit, too.
And of course let's talk about the writing and screenplay of the movie. Every character is well set-up in this movie, with each character having their motivations, and the audience getting to know where they are in their lives and how their relationships are with one another. But one of the best parts of the screenplay for me is definitely the underlying metaphorical stuff that is written into the script.
While yes there are people out there that will want to and will interpret this movie as a literal horror movie, it most definitely isn't. With both the Grandmother's body/skin and the house serving as physical representations of dementia and decaying of the mind. And while I don't want to get too personal, I will say that the themes of this movie certainly hit incredibly close to home, to the point of the movie bringing genuine fear and emotion out of me.
And there are some people who will be confused by the ending, as well. I'm not a big brained individual, so if I got the message/ending of this movie I'm certain most people will, too. With the overall message and ending being that with dementia comes a complete new version of that person, which is why Grandma turns into a completely different being when all of her skin is pealed off. And the daughter decides to stay with her, saying that they cannot leave her, and she finally comes to terms with her mother's dementia and accepts it (like the final stage of grief).
Overall, this movie is very well-acted, well-shot, well-written, and just overall well-made. I would very much recommend it to people who are into dark character dramatic movies, but I would not to people who want a "horror movie" like a It:Chapter Two.
Final Rating: Flip flopping between a 7 or 8, and it will probably take me awhile to decide.