Weekly Round-up #4

V. (1963)

The searing debut of Thomas Pynchon (Gravity’s Rainbow), V. tells a story of two men: a man going about his life aimlessly searching for meaning and a man obsessively searching for V., who may be a person, place, or thing. It’s that, but it’s really about the first half of the 20th century (the book takes place in 1955). An incredibly challenging but entertaining and rewarding read filled with great moments both serious and flat out hysterical. It’s a long book too, with my copy being 547 pgs. Usually, I’m annoyed when an author’s first book is long, it feels like their ambition gets in the way so they put in things that don’t benefit the story, but V. is an exception, with how much it covers the first half of the 20th century and how it all comes back to the story of searching for the elusive V., where it feels like all the pieces may (or may not) matter. A captivating tale, Pynchon was only 26 when his first novel was published and he shows intelligence, in both knowledge and writing skill, wise beyond his years.

9/10

Thanksgiving(2023):

At long last my favorite of the grindhouse trailers is a movie! I was prepared for a disaster. Eli Roth has made a lot of not so well received films over the years, it was modernized with smartphones, and the grindhouse look from the trailer was gone. Imagine my shock when it got positive reviews, higher than two of the three marvel films this year as well as the centennial Disney film, and The Flash. And it’s good! The film was modernized in a way that felt appropriate and, dare I say it, necessary to tell a better story, and the grindhouse spirit is alive and well, with some incredibly gory crowd-pleasing kills. If there is one thing, I have always appreciated about Roth it’s that he puts social commentary into his films and with Thanksgiving he does his best work at this yet with greedy businessmen and their disrespect for history and people. Consumerism is also heavily criticized. It’s all self-ware too but not in a too overbearing way, leading to some great camp. If I had one complaint, its that the movie could have been shorter by about 15 minutes.

*Spoilers below*

I also was a bit bummed out by the ending, where the villain is likely alive. It feels like a bad decision because someone else being John Carver in a sequel could have made more sense. Also, a lot of the main cast members live. It’s not a big deal because a lot of the people who are murdered are important to the villain and story. These aren’t deal breakers, but they do sour the experience.

*Spoilers end*

Overall, worth the 16 years wait. Eli Roth and screenwriter Jeff Rendell, who have the idea since high school, should be proud of what they made.

7/10

Full Disclosure: I worked with Last Meal and Wolfpack director Carolina Castilho on the set of a short film. She was AD and I was sound. She did not ask me to review her work. The link to her site was on her Instagram and I wanted to see her filmography, so I was curious. As you’re about to see I came away impressed.

Last Meal (2021)

A great film about a chef preparing a last meal and the dilemma that ensues when a young man on community service refuses to do so. In its short runtime, it says a lot about life and reputation, and how that affects generations. What really makes Last Meal even better is its ambiguous ending, which is still playing in my head a lot.

8/10

Wolfpack (2020)

A powerful work with little dialogue, Wolfpack is an emotionally resonant tale about a woman in an abusive relationship and the measures she must take to get out of it is an excellent criticism of patriarchy and the catch-22 that many governments have. The film looks and is performed beautifully, often reminding me of the work of Chantal Ackerman and Michael Haneke (the latter being one of my favorite directors, which coming from me is a very high compliment). It’s clear from watching Last Meal and especially Wolfpack that Castilho is very talented.

9/10