Only Lovers Left Alive is a gorgeous and exceptional film. Tom Hiddleston (I could watch this man existentially mope for days on end) and Tilda Swinton are infinitely watchable as the wryly named Adam and Eve, and the level of detail about their characters' lives is outstanding. It was easy to believe these two had been around for centuries and that growing weary of life is inevitable in such a situation. The dry wit, literary and musical references, and soundtrack are all superb, and the nuance and depth expressed in both the performances and the overall production create film that is enthralling and captivating.
I am in love with the aesthetic of this movie -- the vibrancy of the LA and Miami settings -- so much so that it inspired me to buy fabric bunting/flags and Mexican blankets to decorate my apartment. It is such a great feeling to come out of a movie feeling creatively inspired, and even more so because it doesn't happen very often. Sure the food styling is amazing, but the whole ethos of the film is where it's really at: an order of infectious optimism with a side of sly humor? Yes, please! Swingers is of course one of my all-time favorites, so it's great to see Jon Favreau back in indie form. Chef has just as much joy and enthusiasm as Swingers, but is accordingly more grown up. Of course Favreau doesn't make the magic happen all on his own. He gets powerful assists from the always welcome John Leguizamo and a radiant Sofia Vergara, plus a cute kid and Oliver Platt playing a restaurant critic (brother Adam reviews restaurants for New York Magazine, so I found this bit of casting especially delightful, even if the character didn't actually work so well). And also like Swingers, the soundtrack is killer, with plenty of spicy Latin beats.
This is the Wes Anderson I love - dry, quippy, absurdist, and underscored by a quiet rage. The last Anderson movie I really loved before this one was Royal Tenenbaums (Fantastic Mr. Fox was also good, but I tend to not consider it as in line with all the other Anderson films), and Grand Budapest Hotel provided a refresher of what I find so appealing about Wes's first three films. Ralph Fiennes gives a performance that is just fabulous, darling. His performance in particular made me laugh out loud several times, and there were humorous and entertaining moments to be found in many of the other performances as well. The multi-layered narration adds to the Anderson charm, and of course the sets are absolutely fantastic. That Anderson manages such an elaborate, at times verging on convoluted, story without its ever becoming precious or twee is what makes him such a compelling filmmaker.
I love this film. It's beautiful and gentle and reminds me of High Fidelity, albeit from a female perspective. In case you're catching up on my life, High Fidelity was a seminal movie for me, and I've never come across anything that came close to capturing it's wonderfully sullen, wry mood until now. Lucky Them may not be as imminently quotable or star John Cusack, but it does have the music, the music snob (Toni Colette - fabulous), the past loves (predictable casting, but I won't give it away here), the somewhat ill-advised attempt at a new relationship (with cutie Ryan Eggold), and the quirky friends with limited social skills (Thomas Haden Church in his best performance since Sideways). There's also Oliver Platt who adds so much in a small role, just as he did in Chef, and Gary Gulman (one of my favorite stand-ups) popping up as a random and pleasant surprise. Everything about this movie is why I love movies and why it's worth it to take a chance on random indie joints. Lucky Them captures a specific mood and lifestyle perfectly, and I totally bought into the lives of these characters.
I read the book, which has the much cooler title of All You Need Is Kill, and while I found the overall concept to be nifty and engaging, the execution was a bit lacking. Still, I was excited to see how they would bring it to the big screen and worried that Tom Cruise would be too old for the part of a rookie recruit. Don't get me wrong, Tom is handsome as hell and doesn't look his age, but he doesn't exactly look like he did in the days of Top Gun either. I should have known better than to worry, because the purpose of a Tom Cruise movie is to make Tom look good and remind us that he is a genuine Movie Star. From his very first scene with Brendan Gleeson, I knew that no one but Tom could play the role of Cage as it was written for the movie. I mean who else can be a conceited jerk and still be totally charming, all thanks to that killer smile. Work it, Tom! The film itself is a great mix of action, comedy, and video game dynamics. Emily Blunt holds her own very well, and Bill Paxton is clearly having a good time hamming it up as a southern-fried Sargent. I came out of the cinema at the end feeling extremely satisfied. And then I got to do it all again five days later, because I can't see a Tom Cruise movie in the cinema just once. As with many SciFi movies, especially those that involve time-travel elements, knowing the end game makes a second viewing richer because small details are able to stand out in new ways.
The evening I went to see this movie, I need something to cheer me up and take me out of the here & now, and Kelly & Cal delivered. I've been a long-time fan of Juliette Lewis, so I knew the film had her performance going for it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how touching and soothing I found this film (even though the ending is bittersweet). I pretty much wanted to go live in this movie and be friends with the two main characters so I could hang out with them all the time. Juliette is definitely at the top of her game here as Kelly, and Jonny Weston is both cheeky and vulnerable as Cal. The film has an almost book-like quality to it in that the viewer can see things about Kelly & Cal's friendship that aren't realized by the characters themselves. It is clear from the outset that Kelly & Cal's relationship isn't sustainable, but watching it unravel before they recognize this as well is what makes the story and the film compelling. Both characters are pure, but confused souls, and thus inherently watchable.
I saw Guardians twice. The real reason for this is that I had a migraine coming on the first time I saw it, so I wasn't able to appreciate it as fully as I otherwise would have. However, the bits that did connect with me that first time were so darn good, that I probably would have seen it a second time even if I had been in fighting form the first go 'round. This is definitely the sort of movie you can watch over and over and enjoy it every time because some new little detail or facial expression, or line reading is going to jump out at you in a way it hasn't before. When a friend messaged me to ask if I had seen the movie and what did I think of it, I answered that it has very smart, witty writing, lots of small-but-great moments throughout, and good action that doesn't overwhelm every other element of the film (I'm looking at you, Avengers). When further questioned if Guardians is now my favorite Marvel movie, I came to the conclusion that it is tied with the first Captain America, and that those two are far above and beyond any of the other Marvel movies. One of my favorite aspects of Guardians is that the characters come first. All five of the main characters in Guardians are fully drawn -- with emotion and humor that run deep below the surface -- and each is given their own moments in which to shine. Groot and Rocket get a few more of those moments than others, but it will be a long time before I stop hearing Gamora asking "Who put the sticks up their butts?" as Peter Quill tells tales of Footloose, or Ronan's being utterly confounded as Quill dances to "O-o-h Child" at a highly climactic moment. For a SciFi adventure set in space, Guardians of the Galaxy sure does have a whole lot of humanity going on within it, even if those displaying it aren't necessarily human.
I only saw the trailer for this movie once, and that was enough to make me say to myself, "No matter what kind of reviews this John Wick movie gets, I am going to go see it!" Of course, it turns out that it got great reviews across the board, and those reviews are well deserved. This film is so much fun to watch! It has a ton of solid, high quality action sequences and just enough of a story to hold them all together. One of the action sequences is set in a nightclub, and it is both gorgeously filmed and well choreographed. Plus, it has the perfect music carrying the whole thing along. In fact, the soundtrack for the film is really well put together (even if it did sort of seem like it could have been from a movie that came out in 2002). The whole film has a level of sophistication to it that is missing from most Action movies these days, in part due to the fact that it has its own neat little mythology going for it, including an exclusive hotel/club for hit men. To top it off, there are a bunch of great actors scattered throughout the film in bit parts. Part of the fun is seeing who is going to pop up next. John Wick is a classy joint, and makes for a thoroughly enjoyable trip to the cinema.
This is one of those films that pleasantly surprises by not only living up to the hype, but also by surpassing my expectations. Some of my favorite Brits (Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech, Mark Strong) turn in great performances, and the script incorporates a lot of humor. This is a genuinely funny movie (in part because of pitch-perfect line readings -- even Keira Knightley was good!), and that was something I wasn't expecting at all. The non-linear structure makes sense given the material at hand, but it is truly the script and the wonderful cast who bring it to life that make The Imitation Game a must-see for awards season.
I'd been looking forward to this film for quite some time, and it did not disappoint. It is deliciously dark and bleak, both in production design and story, like some of the best SciFi books from the 50s and 60s, and the best SciFi movies from the 70s and 80s. It is this throwback, no-frills approach to SciFi that I love and haven't really seen in a theater in a while. That's not to say that the production design isn't incredibly detailed and sometimes even gorgeous, but that detail is often lurking under grime or in the shadows. It's always such a pleasure to watch Chris Evans not play a super hero, and he does a great job here as a reluctant leader. I read somewhere that he was cast in Snowpiercer because of his performance in Puncture, and that totally makes sense. Going on the journey from Tail to Engine with Evans's Curtis and his rag-tag crew is an extremely compelling story and has wonderful forward momentum, as befitting a narrative that takes place on a train.
I was on the fence about seeing this movie, but decided to go for it because Sam Rockwell is always delightful, no matter what material he has to work with. It turns out that not only is Mr. Rockwell thoroughly enjoyable, but also the material he has to work with here is quite good. He and Keira Knightley have sizzling chemistry, and I wished they had even more screen time together than they do. Even though Laggies starts out a bit slowly, the whole awkward twisted family dynamic that develops is inherently watchable, and although Knightley's character is rather messed up, I was rooting for her to succeed at making even a small step in figuring out just one part of her life. The ending is formulaic, but also highly satisfying. This is a cozy little film that I can't wait to revisit some evening when I'm curled up on my sofa.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie since it starts out with a struggling writer in Brooklyn, but once that character and the action shift down to Florida, everything goes in a much different direction. A Short History of Decay is a very thoughtful film that makes the most of small, everyday moments without being twee. Additionally, the characters are well realized; it's not a stretch to imagine that they could be real people just trying to deal with what life throws at them. The story of a son dealing with his aging parents while still trying to put his own life together is not an unfamiliar one, but Bryan Greenberg brings a wonderful level of nuance and depth to his performance, with a nice sibling dynamic and a couple of meet-cutes to keep things interesting. Greenberg's character must juggle many aspects of his life, yet all these elements weave together flawlessly into one solid narrative. Just like real life, A Short History of Decay is all about the little things.
This movie was playing over in London when I was there at the end of March. There were posters for it *everywhere*, but I couldn't figure out what the big deal was because it was a prison movie with no big stars. I went to see A Long Way Down instead. But of course, as these things tend to go, Starred Up finally arrived stateside . . . and I still couldn't figure out what the big deal was, even though it was getting great reviews everywhere. Three things tipped me in favor of seeing this film: (1) Bret Easton Ellis tweeted favorably about it, (2) I read that Jack O'Connell, who plays the protagonist, is playing the lead in the upcoming Unbroken, and (3) I finally found myself in a mood conducive to seeing a hard-boiled prison movie. Once the film was part way through, I understood why everyone was making such a fuss over it: it is, in fact, excellent. Even though I had trouble understanding some of the dialects for the first quarter of the film (which is really saying something, because I usually have no problem with 'difficult' British accents, and can even understand people from Liverpool and Glasgow), I was still able to appreciate the acting and the dramatic tension that never let up for a single minute. The politics of the prison, on both sides of the bars, are fascinating to watch -- the prison itself is more than just a set-piece, it is a character in its own right. Meanwhile, O'Connell has star power to spare: the man is all raw energy and his eyes let you know his mind is constantly working mile-a-minute. I think we can expect to see big things from this young man in the next few years.
This movie is very French (read: lots of nudity! and sex!), but it is also very haunting. It does an extraordinary job deeply developing the three main characters and exploring their psychology within a very limited set of circumstances. The ease and naturalness of the lead performances only serve to enhance the sinister undertones of the plot. Stranger by the Lake performs the neat trick of being set entirely outdoors, yet becoming increasingly claustrophobic as the story develops. I was riveted for the duration of the film, and its images haunted me for weeks after I saw it.
This is the only movie on this list that was not one of my monthly favorites. I'm not sure why it didn't make the cut originally, since I was so taken by the film that I went out and bought the (very long) book (which I still haven't read yet, but I will one of these days!). However, as I looked back over all the movies I saw this year, this one stood out in my mind more vividly than a lot of films that were singled out as monthly favorites. Winter's Tale is cheesy, sure, but it has a gorgeous aesthetic. It is simply a lovely, beautiful, romantic film that is a pleasure to watch, and it is one that is likely to stay vividly in my mind for years to come. How can one possibly forget a winged horse landing on a frozen lake amidst a most dream-like blue and silver color palette?
No comments:
Post a Comment