Tag: film

The Aviator

~ Mark

The Aviator. I often struggle with biopics, but I liked this one a lot. I like how the film stock and coloring shifts with the passage of time, the recurring hands imagery, and the sympathy we feel as we see this man changing. “Nothing’s clean, Howard. But we do our best.”

The Gift

~ Mark

The Gift. I loved this movie for 90 minutes and then I hated it so much. There are a couple late plot decisions that totally broke the spell. But, credit is for a spell-binding run up to that point. It’s amazing how much tension Edgerton wrings out of thin air. I liked it.

Mission: Impossible 3

~ Mark

Mission: Impossible 3. Better than I remembered. Hoffman is casually one of the most terrifying villains of the past couple decades. It’s a shame that Keri Russell didn’t have a larger role. Current Mission: Impossible rankings:

  1. Mission: Impossible
  2. Mission: Impossible 3
  3. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
  4. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
  5. Mission: Impossible 2

It seems the rule of thumb here is that the quality of the MI films is inversely proportional to the length of Tom Cruise’s hair.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

~ Mark

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. It’s fun! I wish it were as stylish as some of its predecessors. I wasn’t picking up on a McQuarrie directorial stamp like we saw in the De Palma, Woo, and Abrams movies. Also a little bit disappointed with Hunt this time around. Seems like he was a bit overmatched at times – more like something you saw in the early stages of Edge of Tomorrow, or something out of Indiana Jones. I’m use to a Hunt that’s more ruthlessly (absurdly) competent. But still, really solid, and I love the pace. That Ferguson is Cruise’s equal (superior?), the opera scene is top-notch, the villain is perfect, and it’s nice to see an action movie that doesn’t feel like it needs a built-in romance. Filed under: Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible.

Song of the Sea

~ Mark

Song of the Sea. From the same crew that brought you The Secret of Kells. This one is lighter, and more of a mess. It is heart-stoppingly gorgeous at times, and I love the sound design. I also love how much the story was told visually. The direction tunes us in to the acting, their moods, what’s they’re interacting with, where they are, guiding us along as they meet their new challenges. That’s all lovely. But there’s a lot of mythology and plotting and tasks that got in the way for me, and when the climax came around, I just wasn’t invested enough to revel in it. I think The Secret of Kells is the stronger of the two.

The Guest

~ Mark

The Guest. It’s a really satisfying little thriller. Love that they cut out whatever dumb backstory explains this guy, and just ran with it. Sort of like Jack Reacher, with a drifter passing through town, getting mixed up with some teens that are waaaaay out of their depth. Love the creepy pumpkins and jack o’lanterns other spooky mood bits throughout. Gotta be one of the last movies to work CDs into the plot. Killer soundtrack.

Trainwreck

~ Mark

Trainwreck. Gonna sound like a total old man, but this is a mess. I walked out of the theater thinking, “Okay, that was fun here and there”, and as the week went on I got more and more annoyed. Vulgarity can be fun, but it’s not enough. There’s some super lame homophobic/racist stuff. The main character seems to despise her sister’s child and husband for no good reason. Surprisingly frosty relationship. Interesting that it opens up with strong resistance to anything resembling slut-shaming… and then tells a story leading to a very traditional redemption and triumph. Acting-wise, Schumer is better than I expected. Hader every bit as good. LeBron is magnetic, but his character is just weird. Better writing would have helped him shine. In general, the celeb cameos are lame. There is some lovely physical comedy, though. Like early on, walking down a shitty sidewalk in heels, and a triumphant moment on the boat. And later one, putting an average person next to pro perfomers, and seeing how they compare. That’s great stuff. But the scene exists as a dance ex machina (sorry), and doesn’t work. Where did she find time for that? No idea why Ezra Miller exists in this story. Blah. Cf. The Age of the Jokeless Comedy

The Place Beyond the Pines

~ Mark

The Place Beyond the Pines. This was my second viewing (cf. the first), and I really really liked it. The whole thing hung together for me better this time. One thing I noticed the second time around that I appreciated: the movie opens with the sound of Gosling’s breathing prominent; the second main chapter opens with Cooper’s. I would watch a feature film made entirely of those tracking road shots.

Drive

~ Mark

Drive. Third viewing. That elevator scene is still top notch. I’m a sucker for any movie that suspends time to drift into a moment just because. Oscar Isaac has some of the best casual menace in the game right now. Filed under: Drive.

Magic Mike XXL

~ Mark

Magic Mike XXL. My appreciation for it grows as time passes. It’s more aimless than the first one (which I really liked), and I think that “this isn’t gonna be like last time” shift is pretty obvious right away with the “Pony” solo. This one seems more gentle and… appreciative? Everybody learned some lessons over the years since the last one. Now it’s time to celebrate, honor that time, and move on. It’s a shame their crew only has like 1.5 decent dancers, but it kinda works. I really enjoyed Kameron Hurley’s series of tweets about the movie, which had me shouting in agreement. Filed under: Magic Mike.