2018 post, archive

June 2018 Viewing Log

Posted by Nick Taylor on
  1. Crooklyn (94, A-): Bursts with life, from its smartly directed ensemble, nimble grip on time, risky and colorful stylistic choices. Sees the kids, parents, and community. 6/1/18
    1. According to Alfre Woodard’s Wikipedia page she did not receive a SINGLE nomination for Crooklyn which is a SHAM when she should’ve been Oscar nominated at the VERY LEAST. WHAT is that Helen Mirren nomination. HOW has a Spike Lee performance NEVER won an Oscar.
  2. Disobedience (18, B): Lelio and his actors are so textured and resourceful you can’t help wishing for a less predictable trajectory. 6/1/18
  3. Rampart (11, B+): Richly evokes the paranoid white male rage of its lead while viciously dissecting it. A tough script, ambitiously executed. 6/2/18 (review)
    1. Can you imagine what the discourse would’ve been if Rampart had come out in the past two or three years? Holy fuck
  4. They (18, B+): Astonishing use of sound and image to realize this tale, like a poem scaled to cinematic levels. Small, sturdy, specific. 6/2/18
  5. I ♥️ Huckabees (04, A-/A): Walks an impossibly tricky line between earnestly examining its philosophies and enjoying these people’s bullshit. 6/4/18 (review)
  6. Disclosure (94, D+/C-): Ideas about workplace gender politics scrapped for trashy pulp fodder. Hideous writing. Lawyers give it some spark. 6/5/18
  7. RBG (18, B): There’s a more insightful doc here but how wonderful to see such an excited celebration of a genuinely good, groundbreaking person. 6/7/18
    1. I’m pretty sure RBG is the longest running movie at Gateway we have from our summer slate and that makes me super happy
  8. Hereditary (18, ??): Killing of a Sacred Family. Impressive peaks, but almost everyone’s choices invited skepticism throughout. 6/8/18
  9. Ocean’s 8 (18, B-): I wanted to be charmed by eight funny, well dressed women and by god that’s what I got. No suspense but a fun ass time. 6/10/18
    1. If Anne Hathaway’s Met Gala dress wasn’t an explicit parody of that first Phantom Thread dress I’ll rob the Met Gala. Also, she’s great
    2. It’s the definition of snazzy is what it is
    3. Best Bomb-Ass Red Dress for Ocean’s 8
  10. Beauty and the Beast (91, A-): Gender politics worth discussing, but so fleet and elegant with fairytale storytelling it quashes all imitators. 6/12/18
    1. No offense but who actually watched Beauty and the Beast and thought in needed to be altered in any way
  11. Hereditary (18, B/B+): I didn’t give this enough credit. Strongly assembled, well acted, and weirdly structured. Astounding refusal to tip its hand. 6/12/18
    1. Y’know, for someone who says they love horror movies and didn’t get Personal Shopper, Hereditary, or mother! the first time I saw them, I should get my credentials looked at
    2. Collette’s unstoppable, the script’s so unusual, it’s all so goddamn well made. I’d love for this to replace A Quiet Place on every possible ballot for sound design
    3. (two weeks later) Me: Time for bed!!!/My shit brain: But do you know if Toni Collette is on your ceiling???????/Me: Fuck you
  12. Misery (90, B-): Definitely not as layered as it could be, but lean and frequently more compelling than expected in spite of its flaws. 6/14/18
  13. Chunking Express (94, A-): Swings between handheld naturalism and high stylization with cool, collected ease. Deliciously assembled. 6/16/18
  14. 2001: A Space Odyssey (68, A+): Not that these concepts aren’t fascinating, but off-the-charts specificity and filmmaking enraptured me more than Kubrick’s gestures towards the cosmos. 6/16/18
    1. Earns its palpable self-fascination and grandiosity through sheer innovation in realizing its own unfathomable size. Impenetrable, and totally in on its own mysteries and jokes while keeping us only so close.
    2. Hard to discuss depth or ideas in a film offering no answers, so thank god Kubrick’s control of sound, image, mood, etc. are so powerful and captivating and overwhelming. Also, “I think I’m entitled to an answer there Dave.” fucking kills.
    3. All the folks who’re responsible for crafting 2001 are just as heroically ambitious as Kubrick is. And I want one of those pink chairs.
    4. I saw this in a movie theater and I fucking forgot films this long could be so demanding of its audience while offering so much in return for their patience, even if it’s offering more mysteries with daring precision and presentation.
    5. Inifinity Wars has twenty minutes on this and does maybe five things decently. On every level is 2001 a genuine miracle. (Short movies can be perfect too but fuck are filmmakers abusing their run times for projects that absolutely don’t deserve it)
  15. Conviction (10, C+): Admirable syncopation with Betty’s single-mindedness streamline her story. Ensemble brings it to vivid life. 6/17/18 (review)
  16. First Reformed (18, B+): Catholic guilt, environmental rage, hopeless impotence wrestle in a man dying with the earth. Style as heavy as its conscience. 6/18/18
    1. Couldn’t stop thinking about Beatriz at Dinner while watching First Reformed, and how there have been two mordant, intelligent indies that confront American disregard for environmental destruction and respond with total bleakness, and if more like them may come.
    2. Man Who Thought He’d Lost All Hope Loses Last Additional Bit Of Hope He Didn’t Even Know He Still Had
  17. Spanking the Monkey (94, A-): Tonal control and indelible performances all the more impressive for managing unpredictable arcs of dangerous material. 6/19/18
  18. The Incredibles 2 (18, C): Amazing lack of subtlety in script, performance, themes, characterizations further emphasized by lame and speedy plot. 6/20/18
    1. Catherine Keener’s voice is so fucking cool and memorable, also she’s kinda my favorite part of Incredibles 2
  19. The Heat (13, B): Not without its flaws, but god is it hilarious and unexpectedly moving. Bullock’s alright, McCarthy’s fuckin brilliant. 6/20/18
    1. I’m drunk, eating ice cream, and watching The Heat with @tsodeman13​ and a friend. Life is good
  20. Dark Matter (07, D): Tackles a dizzying number of concepts, for better and worse. Squashes its own potential through poor artistic choices. 6/23/18 (review)
  21. I, Tonya (17, B+): Deserves interrogation for altering history, but still a stylistically and narratively bold attempt to put a famous, fraught life under so many lenses and contexts. 6/24/18
    1. FUCK that scene at the makeup table packs a wallop
    2. Soundtrack’s still exciting and maybe too present. Stan and Robbie rule. Janney’s at her best when she’s playing the shark from Jaws – looming and silent. Why didn’t this get a BP or Costume nod?
  22. The Road Movie (18, B-): No tweet. Way less impressed than I originally was. 6/26/18
  23. Lady Bird (17, B+/A-): Changes tone in the blink of an eye. Totally specific construction with broad resonances. I know these people, sort of. 6/29/18
    1. Look it’s beautiful and perfect but Tommy asked what it won at the Oscars and I ranted about how it went home empty handed till he left to get drinks. Laurie Metcalf doesn’t have an Oscar. LAURIE METCALF. HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN. HOW
  24. November (18, B): Singular weirdness, superb camera, surprising turns. More a startling fable than a future cult classic. 6/29/18

Published by Nick Taylor

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