Month: December 2019

Terminator: Dark Fate dir. Tim Miller (2019)

This was a return to form for a Terminator film, and that may be why audiences didn’t show up for it. It was Schwarzenegger again, Hamilton again, a chosen one again. But still, I liked it. I appreciate its changing the narrative a bit for the character of Dani Ramos by giving her some agency that was lacking for characters like Sarah Connor. Mackenzie Davis is a great action star and I’d love to see her in more of these roles. And you know, the whole thing is a video game. Fans of big set piece action games like Uncharted will see the parallels.

Fallen dir. Gregory Hoblit (1998)

There was a big thing with demons in the nineties and early aughts. It’s not just me, is it? Maybe it was the impending millennium. People were seeing inevitable forces leading us toward the apocalypse. Or at the very least, messing around in our lives. Denzel Washington did as well in this cop role as he’s done in others, and I’ll bite when there’s a supernatural angle in these things.

Cam dir. Daniel Goldhaber (2018)

This kinda plays out like a long episode of Black Mirror. (Did I already say I’ll referring to this show?) The mystery is interesting enough and the world of cam sex workers is scary enough to feed the story with skeevy characters. The resolution has a nihilistic bent that didn’t feel good, but then this technology and its implications all feel inevitable.

Executive Decision dir. Stuart Baird (1996)

Eh, I knew what I was getting when I added this to my queue. I can dig Kurt Russell trying to be more of an intellectual action guy, probably something that came about after The Hunt for Red October in 1990. You know, throw on a suit and some glasses.

Fracture dir. Gregory Hoblit (2007)

Hey now, Hoblit again in the same month. I didn’t know this and Fallen were from the same director, but they were both certainly recommended to me on Netflix at the same time. This story also features one diabolical character manipulating the course of events, but Ryan Gosling is such an arrogant jackass in this one that he can’t compare to Washington’s character in the other movie. This ending also doesn’t compare to the hopeless conclusion of Fallen.

The Pelican Brief dir. Alan J. Pakula (1993)

The legal thriller is something. It’s a lot of running around, trying to take down the bad guy with evidence and due process as the bad guys engage in murder and sabotage. I suppose that’s always the the way it goes in stories, the bad guy operating on good faith. It’s just a tough act to follow at a time when it feels like the law serves the powerful and leaves the rest behind. Bush’s backwards policies were out, Clinton’s idealism and prosperity were in, and I guess history repeats itself.

16 Blocks dir. Richard Donner (2006)

I just watched another movie that’s right along these lines, but I can’t write about it until next month. For now, I can say that corrupt cops are rarely so publicly run over the coals. It’s a weird role for Willis and kinda hard to believe him in it.

The Brave One dir. Neil Jordan (2007)

I’m not sure what they’re trying to say here. Violence and crime turn us into the violent criminals? Revenge is inevitable and unhealthy? It’s kind of all over the place. But I suppose movies like John Wick do the exact same thing and I don’t question those, so I’m probably the problem.

Perfect Stranger dir. James Foley (2007)

Speaking of all over the place, yikes. They throw all the red herrings at you and admittedly I didn’t see the real culprit, but it’s such a bad movie that I didn’t care when it’s revealed.

The Game dir. David Fincher (1997)

This one has a great mystery but resolves in such a bad way. I don’t care if it’s Michael Douglas, make his character suffer and fail and conclude it that way. You know, reading all this, I think I’m not in a mood for happy endings.

Enter the Dragon dir. Robert Clouse (1973)

This is the template for so many martial arts movies of the eighties and nineties that I’m glad to finally see that history. This one has what became a bad trope of a martial artist recruited by some government agency to carry out some kinda spying, but I prefer the streamlined tournament settings of the movies inspired by Bruce Lee’s work.

Gothika dir. Mathieu Kassovitz (2003)

I preferred this Halley Berry vehicle to Perfect Stranger up above, and it’s got that supernatural angle I love so much. It’s not as put-together as something Mike Flanagan might pull off these days but I liked its focus on ghost revenge. If anyone deserves revenge, it’s ghosts.

The Interview dir. Craig Monahan (1998)

Hugo Weaving is a great villain. I know he’s tried a few roles where he’s benevolent, like maybe Elrond in The Lord of the Rings and of course his role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but he just has this great presence when he’s opposing the protagonist. This role is kind of a lowkey performance compared to some of his others, and you wait for the ending that never comes, but I love that in film as much as I do in literature.

The Captive dir. Atom Egoyan (2014)

Another rough go with some big actors in the roles. The idea of a conspiracy of rich pedophiles feels too real, like something that absolutely happens and is going on right now. But the performances are kind of weak, as is the general structure of the movie.

Parasite dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019)

You seen this? It’s a tense movie, you’re waiting for the turn. It stuck with me anyway. I’m seeing the cracks in capitalism and realizing that my hatred of money and its dealings since childhood has just been a lowkey loathing toward the system we have to live in. It really fucks things up if you’re peace-minded. You can ignore the trappings but there’s family, there’s friends, and money is always a part of the conversation. The movie’s real good and touches on these things.

Doctor Sleep dir. Mike Flanagan (2019)

I liked Doctor Sleep. It’s no Kubrick but then no one should try to be like him. Flanagan made it his own. Rebecca Ferguson is a great villain though they let me down with the direction they took her by the end. And again, the supernatural is just my jam.

Jojo Rabbit dir. Taika Waititi (2019)

There was controversy around the movie’s making light of Hitler and Nazis, but I don’t mind making Nazis look like idiots and fools. The message is firmly anti-fascist and anti-xenophobia. The kids in the movie are real charming, too.

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood dir. Marielle Heller (2019)

Oh boy, did I every cry. No sobs exactly but hardly a dry eye. And it wasn’t the general story but those specific scenes in which Hanks as Mr. Rogers carefully looks at the protagonist and drops some kinda Rogersian wisdom or another. The protagonist is based on an investigative reporter who couldn’t believe Mr. Rogers is as flawless as he appears to be. He discovers that Mr. Rogers is as human as the rest of us, and it is entirely possible to be an empathetic, kind-hearted person in a world where some people don’t want to believe it. I also have a specific interest in Heller’s directorial work since she’s the sister of Emily Heller, one of my favorite comedians.

Ford v Ferrari dir. James Mangold (2019)

Having recently joined the ranks of a small cog in a corporate empire, I identified pretty hard with the protagonists’ struggles with the corporate overlords at Ford. It’s a pretty common sight in my work – someone is passionate about their work, but the looming eyes of overseers grinds that away, leaving only the most obstinate to push back and inevitably part ways. I’ve seen a lot of people fall away. I’m not someone who would push back, but as I get older I do start to feel that I couldn’t deal with that sort of thing anymore. And if one can’t be a cog, what else is there?

Knives Out dir. Rian Johnson (2019)

Holy shit, this movie is fun! Like, a legitimate murder mystery that had me scratching my head a few times as I tried to figure it out. The characters are all so catty or cartoonish that it may as well be a game of Clue. It’s very similar to the recent Ready or Not, showcasing a cast of entitled rich assholes who get theirs by the end. There was a great moment where some asshat yelled out “Trump 2020, go Fox!” in the theater during a preview for an upcoming movie, and then the movie goes and calls out alt-right dipshits in the first few minutes. It was great. I can’t recommend this movie enough.

Queen & Slim dir. Melina Matsoukas (2019)

I wanted to like this one but there’s a disconnect between the Bonnie and Clyde pursuit story and the larger influence their crime had on communities of African-Americans who’ve been wronged by cops for centuries. I may have to watch if again before I can decide how I feel about it.

The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror XXX” (2019)

I watch these Treehouse of Horror episodes in chronological order every year, and the latter episodes are always a grind. I have to wonder if it’s a disservice to watch these new episodes at the end of a marathon, since I must be feeling pretty ready to move on by the end. Next year, I think I’ll randomize them or watch in reverse chronological order to see if it affects what I think about the new episodes. “XXX" in particular felt kind of uninspired in their parodies.

The Simpsons – “Thanksgiving of Horror” (2019)

I didn’t hear about this episode until the day of its release, and I was pretty intrigued and surprised. I feel like they wouldn’t cram another horror episode into this season (the thirty-first!) unless they thought they weren’t going to get any more chances… but maybe they’re just mixing it up. The shorts in this episode were funnier and somehow more gory than the recent Halloween episodes, and I enjoyed them more overall. Maybe it’s not a bad idea… Holidays of Horror, Easter of Horror?

Cheers – Seasons 2-4 (1983-1986)

This show’s shaping up after the rocky first couple of seasons. I read somewhere that Shelley Long carried the show in the beginning and I can absolutely see that. She’s more confident in her role than the others were in theirs. I can also see why she’d choose to leave in the coming seasons. She was so good that the writers couldn’t find an arc for her beyond a foil to Sam’s kinda boring growing phase. Rhea Perlman gets a lot of fun moments and she’s a treasure. The show’s just hitting a spot with a cast of characters who are all in the same phase of life as I am. I appreciate Norm on that level for his self-deprecating humor and the sarcastic acknowledgement that it’s not good to spend 17 hours on a bar stool.

Terminator: Dark Fate dir. Tim Miller (2019)

This was a return to form for a Terminator film, and that may be why audiences didn’t show up for it. It was Schwarzenegger again, Hamilton again, a chosen one again. But still, I liked it. I appreciate its changing the narrative a bit for the character of Dani Ramos by giving her some agency that was lacking for characters like Sarah Connor. Mackenzie Davis is a great action star and I’d love to see her in more of these roles. And you know, the whole thing is a video game. Fans of big set piece action games like Uncharted will see the parallels.

Fallen dir. Gregory Hoblit (1998)

There was a big thing with demons in the nineties and early aughts. It’s not just me, is it? Maybe it was the impending millennium. People were seeing inevitable forces leading us toward the apocalypse. Or at the very least, messing around in our lives. Denzel Washington did as well in this cop role as he’s done in others, and I’ll bite when there’s a supernatural angle in these things.

Cam dir. Daniel Goldhaber (2018)

This kinda plays out like a long episode of Black Mirror. (Did I already say I’ll referring to this show?) The mystery is interesting enough and the world of cam sex workers is scary enough to feed the story with skeevy characters. The resolution has a nihilistic bent that didn’t feel good, but then this technology and its implications all feel inevitable.

Executive Decision dir. Stuart Baird (1996)

Eh, I knew what I was getting when I added this to my queue. I can dig Kurt Russell trying to be more of an intellectual action guy, probably something that came about after The Hunt for Red October in 1990. You know, throw on a suit and some glasses.

Fracture dir. Gregory Hoblit (2007)

Hey now, Hoblit again in the same month. I didn’t know this and Fallen were from the same director, but they were both certainly recommended to me on Netflix at the same time. This story also features one diabolical character manipulating the course of events, but Ryan Gosling is such an arrogant jackass in this one that he can’t compare to Washington’s character in the other movie. This ending also doesn’t compare to the hopeless conclusion of Fallen.

The Pelican Brief dir. Alan J. Pakula (1993)

The legal thriller is something. It’s a lot of running around, trying to take down the bad guy with evidence and due process as the bad guys engage in murder and sabotage. I suppose that’s always the the way it goes in stories, the bad guy operating on good faith. It’s just a tough act to follow at a time when it feels like the law serves the powerful and leaves the rest behind. Bush’s backwards policies were out, Clinton’s idealism and prosperity were in, and I guess history repeats itself.

16 Blocks dir. Richard Donner (2006)

I just watched another movie that’s right along these lines, but I can’t write about it until next month. For now, I can say that corrupt cops are rarely so publicly run over the coals. It’s a weird role for Willis and kinda hard to believe him in it.

The Brave One dir. Neil Jordan (2007)

I’m not sure what they’re trying to say here. Violence and crime turn us into the violent criminals? Revenge is inevitable and unhealthy? It’s kind of all over the place. But I suppose movies like John Wick do the exact same thing and I don’t question those, so I’m probably the problem.

Perfect Stranger dir. James Foley (2007)

Speaking of all over the place, yikes. They throw all the red herrings at you and admittedly I didn’t see the real culprit, but it’s such a bad movie that I didn’t care when it’s revealed.

The Game dir. David Fincher (1997)

This one has a great mystery but resolves in such a bad way. I don’t care if it’s Michael Douglas, make his character suffer and fail and conclude it that way. You know, reading all this, I think I’m not in a mood for happy endings.

Enter the Dragon dir. Robert Clouse (1973)

This is the template for so many martial arts movies of the eighties and nineties that I’m glad to finally see that history. This one has what became a bad trope of a martial artist recruited by some government agency to carry out some kinda spying, but I prefer the streamlined tournament settings of the movies inspired by Bruce Lee’s work.

Gothika dir. Mathieu Kassovitz (2003)

I preferred this Halley Berry vehicle to Perfect Stranger up above, and it’s got that supernatural angle I love so much. It’s not as put-together as something Mike Flanagan might pull off these days but I liked its focus on ghost revenge. If anyone deserves revenge, it’s ghosts.

The Interview dir. Craig Monahan (1998)

Hugo Weaving is a great villain. I know he’s tried a few roles where he’s benevolent, like maybe Elrond in The Lord of the Rings and of course his role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but he just has this great presence when he’s opposing the protagonist. This role is kind of a lowkey performance compared to some of his others, and you wait for the ending that never comes, but I love that in film as much as I do in literature.

The Captive dir. Atom Egoyan (2014)

Another rough go with some big actors in the roles. The idea of a conspiracy of rich pedophiles feels too real, like something that absolutely happens and is going on right now. But the performances are kind of weak, as is the general structure of the movie.

Parasite dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019)

You seen this? It’s a tense movie, you’re waiting for the turn. It stuck with me anyway. I’m seeing the cracks in capitalism and realizing that my hatred of money and its dealings since childhood has just been a lowkey loathing toward the system we have to live in. It really fucks things up if you’re peace-minded. You can ignore the trappings but there’s family, there’s friends, and money is always a part of the conversation. The movie’s real good and touches on these things.

Doctor Sleep dir. Mike Flanagan (2019)

I liked Doctor Sleep. It’s no Kubrick but then no one should try to be like him. Flanagan made it his own. Rebecca Ferguson is a great villain though they let me down with the direction they took her by the end. And again, the supernatural is just my jam.

Jojo Rabbit dir. Taika Waititi (2019)

There was controversy around the movie’s making light of Hitler and Nazis, but I don’t mind making Nazis look like idiots and fools. The message is firmly anti-fascist and anti-xenophobia. The kids in the movie are real charming, too.

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood dir. Marielle Heller (2019)

Oh boy, did I every cry. No sobs exactly but hardly a dry eye. And it wasn’t the general story but those specific scenes in which Hanks as Mr. Rogers carefully looks at the protagonist and drops some kinda Rogersian wisdom or another. The protagonist is based on an investigative reporter who couldn’t believe Mr. Rogers is as flawless as he appears to be. He discovers that Mr. Rogers is as human as the rest of us, and it is entirely possible to be an empathetic, kind-hearted person in a world where some people don’t want to believe it. I also have a specific interest in Heller’s directorial work since she’s the sister of Emily Heller, one of my favorite comedians.

Ford v Ferrari dir. James Mangold (2019)

Having recently joined the ranks of a small cog in a corporate empire, I identified pretty hard with the protagonists’ struggles with the corporate overlords at Ford. It’s a pretty common sight in my work – someone is passionate about their work, but the looming eyes of overseers grinds that away, leaving only the most obstinate to push back and inevitably part ways. I’ve seen a lot of people fall away. I’m not someone who would push back, but as I get older I do start to feel that I couldn’t deal with that sort of thing anymore. And if one can’t be a cog, what else is there?

Knives Out dir. Rian Johnson (2019)

Holy shit, this movie is fun! Like, a legitimate murder mystery that had me scratching my head a few times as I tried to figure it out. The characters are all so catty or cartoonish that it may as well be a game of Clue. It’s very similar to the recent Ready or Not, showcasing a cast of entitled rich assholes who get theirs by the end. There was a great moment where some asshat yelled out “Trump 2020, go Fox!” in the theater during a preview for an upcoming movie, and then the movie goes and calls out alt-right dipshits in the first few minutes. It was great. I can’t recommend this movie enough.

Queen & Slim dir. Melina Matsoukas (2019)

I wanted to like this one but there’s a disconnect between the Bonnie and Clyde pursuit story and the larger influence their crime had on communities of African-Americans who’ve been wronged by cops for centuries. I may have to watch if again before I can decide how I feel about it.

The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror XXX” (2019)

I watch these Treehouse of Horror episodes in chronological order every year, and the latter episodes are always a grind. I have to wonder if it’s a disservice to watch these new episodes at the end of a marathon, since I must be feeling pretty ready to move on by the end. Next year, I think I’ll randomize them or watch in reverse chronological order to see if it affects what I think about the new episodes. “XXX" in particular felt kind of uninspired in their parodies.

The Simpsons – “Thanksgiving of Horror” (2019)

I didn’t hear about this episode until the day of its release, and I was pretty intrigued and surprised. I feel like they wouldn’t cram another horror episode into this season (the thirty-first!) unless they thought they weren’t going to get any more chances… but maybe they’re just mixing it up. The shorts in this episode were funnier and somehow more gory than the recent Halloween episodes, and I enjoyed them more overall. Maybe it’s not a bad idea… Holidays of Horror, Easter of Horror?

Cheers – Seasons 2-4 (1983-1986)

This show’s shaping up after the rocky first couple of seasons. I read somewhere that Shelley Long carried the show in the beginning and I can absolutely see that. She’s more confident in her role than the others were in theirs. I can also see why she’d choose to leave in the coming seasons. She was so good that the writers couldn’t find an arc for her beyond a foil to Sam’s kinda boring growing phase. Rhea Perlman gets a lot of fun moments and she’s a treasure. The show’s just hitting a spot with a cast of characters who are all in the same phase of life as I am. I appreciate Norm on that level for his self-deprecating humor and the understanding that it’s not good to spend 17 hours on a bar stool.