Tag: david fincher

New Fiction 2020 – July

“Sadie When She Died” by Ed McBain (1972)

I didn’t mean for July to turn out the way it did. This first short story has all the elements–murder, mistaken identity, revenge, cops, procedure. It’s crime fiction the way that most of what I experienced this month is crime fiction. But this particular story gets to the heart of something. What is love? How is love expressed, and when is it too much or the wrong way to love? I get swooped up in the romanticism as much as anyone, but I can’t help but agree with Sheena Melwani’s dad.

The Crazy Kill by Chester Himes (1959)

Love gets even more twisted in this one. Love for a spouse, for god, for a community. The elements that drive us to commit the unspeakable. The focus on Harlem as a living place with real people strikes me as a huge shift for the time.

The Dark-Adapted Eye by Ruth Rendell (1986)

Back to the English countryside for this one, albeit with a more modern eye on events that unfold across a century. Tracing a line from family member to family member, looking for the missed signs and secret connections. I come from a large extended family as well and as I wander further away from them, I wonder what am I losing, what have I gained?

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (1950)

A story about taboos in more ways than one. Repression as a catalyst for deviant behavior feels like a subject I can’t comment on with confidence, but we’ve all seen it enough in fiction. Considering the date on this one, this has to be one of the earlier mainstream depictions of two men who are drawn together by the unstoppable force of unfulfilled longing. Something is missing and they want desperately to find it. It has some Hannibal vibes, which I will get to shortly.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)

To be accepted for all of one’s disgusting mediocrity, to be bound to the one we deserve. I’m not sure what Flynn intends with Nick, the shitty husband character. He sucks. To hear his thoughts in the novel, I’d think he shouldn’t be with anyone. But I’ll admit some projection on my part when I read about this guy. The “villain” of the story is feels more natural, following one’s nature to the inevitable conclusion.

Prehistoric Isle in 1930 dev. SNK (1989)

I needed a break. This game was just fun and short and goofy as fuck. The player is a biplane flying across an exotic landscape and shooting all manner of dinosaurs and cave men and mutants. Games of this vintage aren’t known for interesting endings but holy shit, this was a good finale.

CARRION dev. Phobia Game Studio (2020)

If you ever wanted the perspective of the thing in The Thing, you could read “The Things,” or play this game. They absolutely nailed the fluidity of being an imagined tentacled biosmass with a case of vagina dentata and bottomless appetite. The Metroidvania aspects works really well in the context of being a lost and hungry predatory alien, although there were times when I wish I had a map. But the blind exploration makes this out to be more Another World than Castlevania. It’s a cool contrast to be a kind of laser-focused being without the kinds of ulterior motives as all the other murderers in this month’s stories.

Night of the Hunter dir. Charles Laughton (1955)

This movie is wild for the first two thirds or so. It starts off like an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, then starts dipping into some dark German expressionism and stageplay drama, along with a creepy whistleman lurking around some kids. Then they pull a Hays Code and ruin the ending. Still an interesting movie given the time in which it was released.

In the Mouth of Madness dir. John Carpenter (1994)

This is, by far, the most Lovecraft movie I’ve ever seen. It hits all the notes and and even has the kind of dour finale you usually get in HP’s work. Throw in some Lynchian quaintness and it comes around to some slow but satisfying burn.

Sorcerer dir. William Friedkin (1977)

My dad would be into this. That’s the first thing that came to mind. It’s the kind of gritty macho adventure story we used to watch together in the eighties and nineties. Predator, Indiana Jones, etc. The tension is off the charts. And you don’t see the core events of the movie coming, with even the title remaining a mystery until far into the runtime. Friedkin apparently followed up The Exorcist with this one and didn’t land it at the box office, although it’s now considered an important work.

Paperhouse dir. Bernard Rose (1988)

Hey check that out, more German expressionism. I originally thought it looked distinctly Tim Burtonesque but found out that it goes much further back. There are odd angles, sets that look distinctly like warped stageplay displays. It’s a fitting movie for the time–dark fantasy aimed at children. The director went on to helm Candyman, another connection to notable horror in this very bloody month.

Strangers on a Train dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1951)

The movie’s not as good as the novel, leaving out the tension that builds between the main characters and completely altering the ending. But then the ending in the novel isn’t as dramatic as Hitchcock’s signature stellar finale, but has a lot more to say. I suppose the medium dictates the message.

Gone Girl dir. David Fincher (2014)

The other book-to-movie combo that I checked out this month, and another of many duos who are bound together in their disdain and obsession. Affleck didn’t match Nick’s literary strain from the novel, though he certainly makes for a mediocre husband type. On the other hand, Pike did great work in the role of Amy. She harnesses all the qualities and voice of the character.

What We Do in the Shadows – Seasons 1-2 (2019-2020)

My favorite television show this year? I can’t believe it’s this good. Everyone is fantastic and hilarious, and I have a crush on Natasia Demetriou’s character that is solely a nostalgic throwback to my affection for weird goth girls in high school. Guillermo, holy shit he’s great! He and Nandor form another interesting pair. Jackie Daytona shows us the way.

Hannibal – Seasons 1-3 (2013-2015)

I participate in a Slack channel about Mads Mikkelsen. That’s it, just Mads. I joined because he has the excellent “Mister Doctor” dialogue in Doctor Strange and people seemed to be really into him. I didn’t quite get it until watching Hannibal. The three season dance between the two main characters is some of the most intricate courtship I’ve ever watched. But it’s also Hannibal, so you know, there’s murder and blood and dismembered bodies displayed in all sorts of creative ways. It’s a wonder this lasted as long as it did on network television. Now I want season 4 gotdangit.

The Last of Us Part II dev. Naughty Dog (2020)

This one’s under the cut because I have extensive and spoiler-filled scattered thoughts on this video game.

I played and completed this in a marathon two-day session. Do not play this way. You will long for the end, and perhaps this isn’t a game meant to be experienced all at once. It’s crushing.

My first and strongest reaction was, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME.” I played three days in Seattle as Ellie. It is DONE. But then Abby reenters the picture, and they reset the clock to the beginning of the excursion in Seattle from her perspective. I must concur that video games are too long. The pacing is off, the Abby section drops in and completely kills the momentum. This should have been DLC or a separate release. I mean, Christ, the player has to experience the same three days again. Most of Abby’s three days was a real slog with just a few highlights in the action and fights she experiences. It all seems designed to consider all sides at a time when that isn’t working out so well.

Naughty Dog abuses the cut to black. It has weight and meaning in TLOU because it is seldom used, but in this game they go nuts with it and just confuse the player about when the game is actually over.

Santa Barbara was fucking amazing. I mean in the sense that it is so excruciatingly designed and rendered that it made me sick. Why was it so fucking good? Why? The events that took place there were secondary to just walking along in that suburb as Abby. I wondered if Ellie might find some California wine as she made her way through the Spanish style villas. I’m tempted to go back and replay those scenes just to dwell in that space.

They repeat the climactic fight between Abby and Ellie, perhaps to show when each has moved on, but it feels redundant and frustrating to go through it again. It’s too much, man.

I wonder about this game without the combat encounters. A walkthrough mode. Just walk through desolate, beautiful spaces.

New Fiction 2020 – July

“Sadie When She Died” by Ed McBain (1972)

I didn’t mean for July to turn out the way it did. This first short story has all the elements–murder, mistaken identity, revenge, cops, procedure. It’s crime fiction the way that most of what I experienced this month is crime fiction. But this particular story gets to the heart of something. What is love? How is love expressed, and when is it too much or the wrong way to love? I get swooped up in the romanticism as much as anyone, but I can’t help but agree with Sheena Melwani’s dad.

The Crazy Kill by Chester Himes (1959)

Love gets even more twisted in this one. Love for a spouse, for god, for a community. The elements that drive us to commit the unspeakable. The focus on Harlem as a living place with real people strikes me as a huge shift for the time.

The Dark-Adapted Eye by Ruth Rendell (1986)

Back to the English countryside for this one, albeit with a more modern eye on events that unfold across a century. Tracing a line from family member to family member, looking for the missed signs and secret connections. I come from a large extended family as well and as I wander further away from them, I wonder what am I losing, what have I gained?

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (1950)

A story about taboos in more ways than one. Repression as a catalyst for deviant behavior feels like a subject I can’t comment on with confidence, but we’ve all seen it enough in fiction. Considering the date on this one, this has to be one of the earlier mainstream depictions of two men who are drawn together by the unstoppable force of unfulfilled longing. Something is missing and they want desperately to find it. It has some Hannibal vibes, which I will get to shortly.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)

To be accepted for all of one’s disgusting mediocrity, to be bound to the one we deserve. I’m not sure what Flynn intends with Nick, the shitty husband character. He sucks. To hear his thoughts in the novel, I’d think he shouldn’t be with anyone. But I’ll admit some projection on my part when I read about this guy. The “villain” of the story is feels more natural, following one’s nature to the inevitable conclusion.

Prehistoric Isle in 1930 dev. SNK (1989)

I needed a break. This game was just fun and short and goofy as fuck. The player is a biplane flying across an exotic landscape and shooting all manner of dinosaurs and cave men and mutants. Games of this vintage aren’t known for interesting endings but holy shit, this was a good finale.

CARRION dev. Phobia Game Studio (2020)

If you ever wanted the perspective of the thing in The Thing, you could read “The Things,” or play this game. They absolutely nailed the fluidity of being an imagined tentacled biosmass with a case of vagina dentata and bottomless appetite. The Metroidvania aspects works really well in the context of being a lost and hungry predatory alien, although there were times when I wish I had a map. But the blind exploration makes this out to be more Another World than Castlevania. It’s a cool contrast to be a kind of laser-focused being without the kinds of ulterior motives as all the other murderers in this month’s stories.

Night of the Hunter dir. Charles Laughton (1955)

This movie is wild for the first two thirds or so. It starts off like an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, then starts dipping into some dark German expressionism and stageplay drama, along with a creepy whistleman lurking around some kids. Then they pull a Hays Code and ruin the ending. Still an interesting movie given the time in which it was released.

In the Mouth of Madness dir. John Carpenter (1994)

This is, by far, the most Lovecraft movie I’ve ever seen. It hits all the notes and and even has the kind of dour finale you usually get in HP’s work. Throw in some Lynchian quaintness and it comes around to some slow but satisfying burn.

Sorcerer dir. William Friedkin (1977)

My dad would be into this. That’s the first thing that came to mind. It’s the kind of gritty macho adventure story we used to watch together in the eighties and nineties. Predator, Indiana Jones, etc. The tension is off the charts. And you don’t see the core events of the movie coming, with even the title remaining a mystery until far into the runtime. Friedkin apparently followed up The Exorcist with this one and didn’t land it at the box office, although it’s now considered an important work.

Paperhouse dir. Bernard Rose (1988)

Hey check that out, more German expressionism. I originally thought it looked distinctly Tim Burtonesque but found out that it goes much further back. There are odd angles, sets that look distinctly like warped stageplay displays. It’s a fitting movie for the time–dark fantasy aimed at children. The director went on to helm Candyman, another connection to notable horror in this very bloody month.

Strangers on a Train dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1951)

The movie’s not as good as the novel, leaving out the tension that builds between the main characters and completely altering the ending. But then the ending in the novel isn’t as dramatic as Hitchcock’s signature stellar finale, but has a lot more to say. I suppose the medium dictates the message.

Gone Girl dir. David Fincher (2014)

The other book-to-movie combo that I checked out this month, and another of many duos who are bound together in their disdain and obsession. Affleck didn’t match Nick’s literary strain from the novel, though he certainly makes for a mediocre husband type. On the other hand, Pike did great work in the role of Amy. She harnesses all the qualities and voice of the character.

What We Do in the Shadows – Seasons 1-2 (2019-2020)

My favorite television show this year? I can’t believe it’s this good. Everyone is fantastic and hilarious, and I have a crush on Natasia Demetriou’s character that is solely a nostalgic throwback to my affection for weird goth girls in high school. Guillermo, holy shit he’s great! He and Nandor form another interesting pair. Jackie Daytona shows us the way.

Hannibal – Seasons 1-3 (2013-2015)

I participate in a Slack channel about Mads Mikkelsen. That’s it, just Mads. I joined because he has the excellent “Mister Doctor” dialogue in Doctor Strange and people seemed to be really into him. I didn’t quite get it until watching Hannibal. The three season dance between the two main characters is some of the most intricate courtship I’ve ever watched. But it’s also Hannibal, so you know, there’s murder and blood and dismembered bodies displayed in all sorts of creative ways. It’s a wonder this lasted as long as it did on network television. Now I want season 4 gotdangit.

The Last of Us Part II dev. Naughty Dog (2020)

This one’s under the cut because I have extensive and spoiler-filled scattered thoughts on this video game.

I played and completed this in a marathon two-day session. Do not play this way. You will long for the end, and perhaps this isn’t a game meant to be experienced all at once. It’s crushing.

My first and strongest reaction was, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME.” I played three days in Seattle as Ellie. It is DONE. But then Abby reenters the picture, and they reset the clock to the beginning of the excursion in Seattle from her perspective. I must concur that video games are too long. The pacing is off, the Abby section drops in and completely kills the momentum. This should have been DLC or a separate release. I mean, Christ, the player has to experience the same three days again. Most of Abby’s three days was a real slog with just a few highlights in the action and fights she experiences. It all seems designed to consider all sides at a time when that isn’t working out so well.

Naughty Dog abuses the cut to black. It has weight and meaning in TLOU because it is seldom used, but in this game they go nuts with it and just confuse the player about when the game is actually over.

Santa Barbara was fucking amazing. I mean in the sense that it is so excruciatingly designed and rendered that it made me sick. Why was it so fucking good? Why? The events that took place there were secondary to just walking along in that suburb as Abby. I wondered if Ellie might find some California wine as she made her way through the Spanish style villas. I’m tempted to go back and replay those scenes just to dwell in that space.

They repeat the climactic fight between Abby and Ellie, perhaps to show when each has moved on, but it feels redundant and frustrating to go through it again. It’s too much, man.

I wonder about this game without the combat encounters. A walkthrough mode. Just walk through desolate, beautiful spaces.

New Fiction 2019 – November

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.

New Fiction 2019 – November

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.