The General’s Daughter. Ugh. Just too much.
Tag: film
Congo
Congo. Dumb old-fashioned ’90s jungle adventure. It’s not good, and not really close, but has its charms here and there. Laura Linney!
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange. It’s a nice change of pace to see a superhero who’s a bit of an asshole. Great finale. But still, it’s yet another superhero origin story… There has to be another way.
Alien
Alien. Perfection. Still a five-star film. I love those Nostromo jackets!
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. So, so corny, but it keeps it light and there’s a good adventure waterfall scene. Thesis: bad action/adventure movies are better than most other genres done badly.
Prisoners
Prisoners. The older I get, torture scenes in movies are just more and more unbearable. I fear we still haven’t appreciated Hugh Jackman enough. Nerdy Terrence Howard is a treat! Gyllenhaal’s character is so weird and I love that they don’t delve into it. much He just is.
The Invitation
The Invitation. Really good! Draws you in and lingers. I like how it lets the suspicion sizzle without confirming it until late in the game. Love the use of and absence of sound throughout.
Passion
Passion. The ballet scene is sublime. Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune plays prominently – teased early on a billboard. More on-the-nose than I expected it to be, and I was hoping for more of a slow burn.
Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here. I really like that Joel Edgerton. The movie is fine. Plot gets a little tooooo thick and I wonder if the timeline-chopping hurts it.
Z for Zachariah
Z for Zachariah. I liked it overall. Chris Pine has such a great blend of charm and menace. Accents are hit and miss. Biggest annoyance was the sets and costuming. The apocalypse looks a bit too much like a magazine spread. The score was written by the same woman who scored for the excellent, lovely-sounding, and harrowing Compliance. Good stuff.
A Most Violent Year
A Most Violent Year. Solid. Gotta hang on to what you got. I like that the hero is a runner.
Felony
Felony. I like a story where people goof up and cover it up. But this was kinda bland. Jai Courtney surprisingly good as a straight-arrow type?
Predator
Predator. Holds up! I forgot how fluid and pleasing some of the camerawork is here. The scene where they unload a zillion bullets into the jungle has a strange formalist beauty. Final fight just a wee too long.
Take Shelter
Take Shelter. Good lord I love this movie. Gut-wrenching to see a man surrounded by, and pushing away, people that care about him. (My first viewing was somehow five years ago?)
Sliding Doors
Sliding Doors. ’90s movies are really growing on me. Paltrow and Lynch and Tripplehorn are such natural charmers.
Valkyrie
Valkyrie. I… don’t remember much about. It was fine?
Our Kind of Traitor
Our Kind of Traitor. It was fine. Fairly standard spy intrigue stuff. I’m on board with that, but just ran out of steam somehow.
20th Century Women
20th Century Women. I loved it. The ’70s were weird but then again so was every time. Bening is a genius.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The Riders of Rohan are the best. Loved’em in the book. Love’em in the movies. I think they nailed the melodrama in this one. And the build-up to the spider set-piece is pretty great. I still think the song during the closing credits is a huge misfire. Should have gone instrumental!
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. You can see the move ripping at the seams. There’s a lot of story to pack in here. Lots of it feels clipped, rushed, off-kilter. Romances are un-earned. Jarring shifts in tone. Gimli has a lot more to say. Legolas slides on a shield? It’s a mess, but may have the best landscapes of the trilogy.
Mark Larson 