Round Up of almost everything I watched on hiatus

All right I'm back, let's do this

Blue Beetle (2023)

The penultimate DCEU film starring the lesser known but nevertheless beloved DC hero is one I was looking forward to (I liked the character in Young Justice).  I shouldn’t have bothered.  First off, the pointless change between languages is a personal peeve of mine.  But that’s the least of the movie’s problems.

              This is a movie about the importance of family, which is frequently hammered into you.  This wouldn’t be so bad, but Jaime’s family is really annoying.  Worse, it felt like their annoying energy tries to compensate for how forgettable its story is, not helped by the film being way too long.  Just when you think it is going to end, the character makes a dumb decision that extends the movie by 50 minutes.  And in true recent superhero movie fashion, the villain sucks.

              The only saving grace is the lead, who is admittedly fun in the role, and the action scenes are decent.

5/10

Totally Killer (2023)

              Totally Killer reminds me of a lot of movies from the early 2010’s that paid loving homage to the 80’s.  You have a rebellious lead, helicopter parents and a whiz kid.  It’s charming and to Totally Killer’s credit it does feel critical of the 80’s and how we’ve progressed (and regressed) since then.  It leads to some fun bits and gags too.

              Everything else about the movie is not so great.  There are a lot of annoying flashbacks that show what a character looks like in the present day.  It’s unnecessary, made even more egregious because it’s a movie.  On TV shows, it makes sense because of a shows length but in movies it’s inexcusable. 

              The movie has time travel rules, but they felt written like they were just an excuse so certain events can happen, and they can hand wave any criticism away.  Eventually the killer is revealed, and it makes sense but leads to some massive plot holes that makes me wonder why no one mentioned critical information before.  The second resolution is less forgivable, and unnecessary. 

4/10

Warrior (2019)

              As a fan of period pieces, martial arts films, and Bruce Lee (who came up with the idea in the 70’s), Warrior feels like it was tailor made for me.  Which is why it hurts that I find the long gestated work so meh.  First off, the weird mixture of characters transitioning from Chinese and English(like in Blue Beetle) is annoying.  It feels like it’s trying to appeal to people who don’t like subtitles, but I seriously doubt those people will ever watch this show. 

              The biggest problem with Warrior is how one-note it is.  Everything is about surface level exploration of bigotry.  And it is EVERY SCENE.  No character development, no interesting stories, just ham-fistedly explored themes.  I was often reminded of The Wire, my favorite show, and how it explored its themes, and how it excellently blended it with character. 

              Also, the show lacks Bruce lee’s personality.  I know he’s not involved, but this is a show based on one of his ideas and markets itself on that.  What I love about Lee is that he wasn’t some stoic tough guy like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  He was animated, lively, and had a personality, almost like a cartoon character.  That attitude could have given Warrior its own unique identity(and a sense of fun), but alas no, we’re stuck with a bunch of stoic bores.

              Despite my criticism, there are some good things.  The martial arts is good, the show has a nice look to it and the violence is pulpy and bloody, but it doesn’t save the show from being a slog.  Its heart is in the right place, but its brain isn’t quite as strong.  I gave up 5 episodes in.

5/10

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

              When the original The Exorcist film was released in 1973, it immediately became a landmark film, and its stature has only grown.  Surprisingly, a lot of people have not covered what I feel what makes it great.  It’s unsettling while also thematically rich, covering topics like mental health, the waning relevance of religion, and the bizarre machinations of healthcare and the Catholic church, and how they’re different yet similar.  Many possession movies, and the Exorcist sequels (except III), in comparison, have missed all these points and just see the surface level story.  And unfortunately, the Exorcist: Believer, may just be the worst of the bunch.  It may not be as hackneyed as The Exorcist: The Beginning, but it’s perhaps the most uninspiring film.

              Believer copies the previous films a lot, as seen in the beginning with the pregnant woman (like Beginning and Dominion).  And the ones being possessed being teens like in 1 and 2(It also has II’s bad acting).  When it’s not being uninspired, it’s just being annoying like making vegetarianism look lame, making the possession happen unambiguously, and most egregiously tying itself to the first movie in ways that are annoying and nonsensical.

              It’s also just really lame full of “ooohhh scary” moments.  Oooohhhhh there’s enchanters.  Ooooohhhh there’s flickering lights, oooohhhh the waters black.  Again, it’s just lazy.  To think there are two more films on the way is just agonizing.

2/10

            X(2022)

This throwback horror film to 70’s grindhouse films has a great aesthetic and excellent use of prosthetics.  It’s hard to believe Maxine and Pearl are both Mia Goth.  It’s too bad everything else is just fine.  The story is fine, the characters are fine, the kills are fine.  It just feels fine.  There are themes about beauty and sexual repression, but it’s never explored as much as I like.  The movie is structured a lot like X director Ti west’s House of the Devil: buildup then insanity.  But, as said, the movie is just fine all around, not exactly getting better.  I didn’t hate it, but I’ll never watch it again.

5/10

La La land (2016)

              I hate Whiplash. I’ve seen it twice and still felt it to be a massive misfire in every way.  I was going to watch it eventually, but I was reluctant.  Thankfully La La Land is pretty great.  The music and are a joy to listen and watch.  I could easily have the music on repeat.  The direction is also excellent, with a mixture of an old and new direction, fittingly giving the film a jazzy feeling, which is fitting, because the movie not only has jazz as recurring music, but the film also explores the old and the new and their uneasy co-existence (which is mentioned in the movie).  It is also told in a classic melodramatic musical story but face-lifted with thoughtful modern dialogue and a bittersweet ending. 

8/10

              Birth (2004)

              The second film of Johnathan Glazer, who this year released the excellent Zone of Interest, looks great and that’s it.  The plot, about a boy who claims to be the resurrected dead husband and he somehow knows intimate details only they would know, is a schlocky story that dooms this movie from the start.  It’s bad(and gross) enough but the movie has a monumentally anticlimactic ending, which makes the cast look like the biggest morons of all time.  It’s a massive misstep in every way and a blemish in the filmography of a great director.

4/10

              The Assistant (2020)

A polarizing film to say the least, The assistant is about, you guessed it, an assistant dealing with harassment to her and others.  I really liked the mundanity of having to deal with unacceptable behavior.  It’s good but it’s not enough.  It’s supposed to be the daily life of an assistant but the feeling I got from the movie was that I just saw a 1/3rd of an incomplete picture.  What happens next, what does it lead to?  I needed more.

              6/10

              Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

              A love it or hate it affair, the film has a committed performance from Nicolas Cage.  He’s unapologetically wild, and so is the film itself.  But the film has meat on its bones and so does Cage’s character.  It fully critiques the corrupt and aggressive nature of the police, as does Cage’s character, who is corrupt but only because he realizes the folly that is the police force giving him  a sense of humanity.  The rest of the cast is also quite memorable, with great performances from Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Xzibit, and Jennifer Coolidge.  It’s an uncompromising film that can be hard to watch but one I found entertaining.

8/10

              The Royal Hotel (2023)

              Kitty Green’s follow-up to The Assistant is another slow burn though a more well-realized one, having a proper beginning, middle and end. It’s also just as technically sound.  Unfortunately, for all the improvements, there are some grave flaws.  The character Liv is a total dumbass and the only reason the plot really happens is because she’s conveniently an idiot.  There is also one scene where a character leaves and for some reason the two leads don’t go with her.  It all leads to a rather disappointing resolution.  I would not call Green bad at writing and directing like some do (a lot of female directors get a lot of hate online) but she needs to get it together. 

6/10

              Shiva Baby (2020)

              The debut of Rachel Seligman, Shiva Baby captures the concept of generational gap through awkward situations at a shiva (the afterparty of a funeral in Jewish traditions). It is well captured by a suffocating and claustrophobic direction with extreme close-ups.  Shiva Baby does overdo it with one too many scenes doing this but each time it does happen it does work (the movie also being only 77 minutes helps too).  Also helping is the music, which is based on Klezmer music and adds to the film’s tone.

              The lead is a likeable character, and she is played by a charismatic Rachel Sennott.  Fred Melamed plays her father, and he is great as always.  I’ve been a fan of him since I saw him in A Serious Man where he played the films antagonist Sy Ableman, (a name and performance so great. I didn’t need to even look up.  I just remember it after seeing it a decade ago) and he is still giving great performances.  I also like the actress who plays Maya, and I really liked the conversations they had of growing up (they’re exes).  And it’s all really funny and charming.  Seligman is not even 30 and she shows tons of promise.

Bottoms (2023)

              Rachel Seligman’s follow-up to Shiva Baby is a flat-out comedy and damn good one.  It’s full of really great visual gags and wordplay, my favorite being the football team being rarely ever out of their uniforms.  As you can probably tell from me typing that, Bottoms does not take itself seriously, made even better by how crass it is (a standout being the teacher, who apparently improvised all his lines).  The story about two girls trying to get with the girls they have a crush on, is a very traditional high school comedy, but I love how anime it is with lunacy, especially in the final act, though before we get through that we go through a very contrived conflict that does not feel self-aware.  Also, only one of the relationships between a lead and her crush is developed, the other not so much.  Despite my criticisms, I really enjoyed Bottoms and would be up for watching it again, even if I don’t like it as much as Shiva Baby.  You should still see it though.  I know someone who watches movies as much as I do and it’s her favorite film of the year.  Maybe you’ll feel the same.

7/10

Poor Things (2023)

              The latest from Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The Favourite, The Lobster) is delightfully weird and not just because of its stellar set and costume design.  An odyssey of a woman discovering who she is(again), Poor Things excellently questions societal norms, particularly the role of women, and does so in a way that is satirical and thoughtful.  The writing and directing are strong, made even better by Emma Stone’s reliably excellent performance.  Considering how colorful the cast of characters are-not to mention all performed by a great cast from the like of Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, and Christopher Abbot-that’s no small feat.  My only complaint is the final act.  I would have liked if Bella’s backstory was left ambiguous.  Regardless, great movie and I can’t wait to watch it again.

8/10

Downsizing (2017)

              This somewhat infamous film isn’t the awful misfire I thought it’d be.  It’s full of ideas that I can get behind and Hong Chau’s performance is a standout.  But none of the ideas are well executed all that well.  First off, the film’s premise about people shrinking so the carbon footprint can be reduced has a whole “just go with it” attitude that feels lazy, made even worse that(mostly) no one questions the ethics of such an idea.  It also looks very unconvincing, with scaling that just looks bad.  But the movie’s biggest problem is it completely misses the mark with its exploration of climate change.  I am not trying to downplay the impacts of climate change (anyone who knows me knows I’m the last person to do that) but this film completely ignores renewable energy’s progress alongside the act of downsizing (though to be fair, it was 2017, things seemed bleak then).  So, while I did feel something I surprisingly didn’t feel much.  I was too busy saying “What about X?”

4/10

Promising Young Woman (2020

              A likeable Carey Mulligan is the only good thing about this movie.  It’s not the story or the message that’s the problem, it’s how it’s done.  It’s all blatant and unsubtle without any depth, with certain moments meant to tackle one theme and it’s never brought up or developed again.  This didn’t need to be a problem, but everyone’s written in a way that’s incredibly lazy and one-note, feeling like baby’s first feminist movie.  They don’t feel like characters.  I did like the final act, but I found myself wanting that to be the first act of the film and be expanded on.

Oz (1997-2003)

              Before The Sopranos there was Oz.  Like The Sopranos it’s critical of America, in Oz’s case, it’s critical of our penal system that still feels potent.  While that’s great, Oz is a deeply flawed show.  The biggest problem with Oz is it’s always in danger of being schlock.  That might sound like I’m saying “If it’s schlock, it would be worse” but no.  If it was, I might have enjoyed it more.  But I also would have enjoyed it more if it was better written.  The result is a show that’s not good enough to be a quality show nor brave enough to face the madness.  And this is the case for the whole show, not eventually but from the beggining.  Not helping is that most of the cast is forgettable, with Kareem Said, Em City warden McManus, Rebadow and Aryan Vern Schillinger being the exceptions.  The show does have some highlights though: along with the previously mentioned characters, the show does have well written moments throughout and the monologues by Augustus Hill are good (though I have my suspicions this was due to the show not knowing how to explore them in the show).  None of this saves the show from its flaws.  And the series finale is so annoying and unsatisfying.  Was there supposed to be another season.

6/10

Batman: The Mask of Phantasm (1993)

              The beloved movie based on the animated series is a compelling whodunit that’s also an excellent deep dive into Bruce Wayne/Batman’s psyche.  It’s also beautifully animated and terrifically voice acted, with the late Kevin Conroy being the standout.  But that’s par for the course with Batman: The Animated series.

8/10

Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero (1998)

              On the other hand, we have this rather underwhelming film, which feels like an extended episode rather than a movie.  Nothing really to say really.

5/10

American Fiction (2023)

              Winner of the TIFF audience award, American Fiction is an important movie with an important story and a likeable curmudgeon protagonist brought to life by an excellent Jeffrey Wright as the lead.  It’s important, but that doesn’t mean the film is great.  Maybe I would feel differently, but I already agreed with what the movie said prior to seeing it, so it just sort of felt like it was preaching to the choir for me.  Not helping is the movie feeling like it’s trying to be a crowd pleaser, which is weird considering the film’s proceedings and message about NOT doing that.  I wish it had more bite to it.

6/10

That Day, on the Beach (1983)

The directorial debut of the late Edward Yang is a compelling melodrama about a complicated marriage.  The performances are great, the tone is consistent throughout.  The characters are a bit weak though, which wouldn’t be such a problem, but the film is 2hr 46min. And when the film is relying so heavily on its characters motivations and actions, it can feel like a slog sometimes.

7/10

Monster (2023)

The latest film from Hirokazu Kore-da, I’ve seen a few of his films and thought they were good but not exactly great.  The reason being that I like what he discusses but I don’t really like the sentimentality he puts in them.  Monster, though, I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It is an effective exploration of how monstrous humanity can be.  The central mystery, told through three perspectives, is great and kept me hooked until the end.  It’s a really effective and emotionally resonant film

8/10

All of us strangers (2023)

Not much to say about this one because what you see is what you get but it is emotionally resonant although its premise is baffling and simultaneously interesting and head scratching. 

6/10

Dream Scenario (2023)

              The latest from Kristofer Borgli (Sick of Myself) is a really funny look at unexpected fame.  It can be seen to be about cancel culture, but it’s really just about how going viral can have a negative impact on someone’s personal life.  This being a movie about dreams, it gets a lot weirder as it goes on and it’s incredibly entertaining to watch.  None of this would work if Cage wasn’t great, but here he possibly gives his career best performance.  A lot of people have complained about the final act, but I personally had no problems with it, if anything I thought it made sense. 

8/10