I have been watching a lot of films over the past few weeks, and here they are from best to worst IMHO:
Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul - A charismatic megachurch preacher (Sterling K Brown) and his long-suffering wife (Regina Hall) attempt to get their congregation back after a sex scandal (his) shuts the church down. Ostensibly a comedy, the real plot here is conducted entirely in extremely painful subtext, and is done so deftly by every member of the cast. Brown is insanely intense in everything he does and certainly delivers here, but it’s Hall who makes me want to storm the Academy and demand that she get a spot on the Best Actress shortlist because GODDAMN she shines in this with every breath, every forced smile, every tiny eye twitch she gives us. Sadly the fact that it’s an all-black cast in a story about an aspect of black church culture will probably mean that it gets overlooked, which is a fucking crime. Do seek it out.
Three Thousand Years of Longing - Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton present a delightful tribute to the art of storytelling, and it’s a joy to watch. Do be aware that at one point a large number of completely naked plus-sized ladies (and a naked plus-sized man) appear, so if you’re apprehensive of/excited at the thought of such, gird your loins appropriately.
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande - Speaking of naked ladies: Emma Thompson’s repressed elderly schoolteacher hires handsome sex worker Daryl McCormack. Lots of talking and character development happens, but also an increasing amount of nudity and sex. A well-written script and a great two-hander by the stars. Several LOL moments, but also a fair amount of flesh (albeit not gratuitous).
Knives Out - Already described to death above. I thought it was a solid murder mystery with a lot of twists I didn’t see coming (and a few that I did). Daniel Craig was the weak link here IMO, and his accent was ridiculous. Still, I liked it enough to want to see Glass Onion.
The Courier - A whimsical biopic about an eccentric British character you’ve never heard of, played here by Benedict Cumberbatch. In this case it’s a Cold War spy drama and an odd milquetoast of a businessman who steps into a major nuclear crisis. On the whole, pretty good.
The Phantom of the Open - A whimsical biopic about an eccentric British character you’ve never heard of, played here by Mark Rylance. A shipyard worker applies for and is inadvertently admitted to the British Open. Funny golf stuff ensues. If this were fiction it would be like a slightly more banal Happy Gilmore, but it works because 1) it’s all pretty much true and therefore much, much funnier, and 2) the film uses just the right touch of lightness, sympathy and pathos to really make it work. There’s not a huge amount of substance to it but I enjoyed this far more than I thought I was going to.
Cars 3 - I just watched this again because I like it. After the “Mater does James Bond” nonsense of Cars 2, this one recaptures the charm of the first one. Also, it’s an odd vehicle [sic] for a feminist message but there you go.
LightYear - To recap: in the Toy Story universe, this is the film upon which the Buzz Lightyear toy is based. I didn’t know what to expect but it was okay all around - few surprises, some laughs, decent performances, and all in all not bad.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain - A whimsical biopic about an eccentric British character you’ve never heard of, played here by Benedict Cumberbatch. Again. Seriously, he does a lot of these, although it’s been all downhill since the Turing thing.
Here’s the thing: Louis Wain, the great-granddaddy of every internet cat meme, was an interesting character with a rather tragic life and an output of unique and colorful artworks. How they managed to turn that into a flat, dull, cliche-ridden narrative must have taken some effort. I recommend that you take 10-15 minutes to look up Wain’s life and work on the internet rather than spending 1.5 hours watching this, but if you really want to know what the film is like, here it is in a nutshell:
Wain: Hello. I am an eccentric artist with enormous talent and no social skills whatsoever. I say “electricity” a lot. My big sister is mad at me because I don’t make enough money to support her and my 47 other sisters who are just there to be a financial and emotional burden to me. One of them is amusingly fat, and at least one will probably die horribly at some point.
Influential Editor: Hello. I’m an influential editor. I would like to give you a full time job drawing cat cartoons.
Wain: Okay then.
Governess: Hello. Your big sister hired me to educate your 47 other sisters, one of whom is amusingly fat and at least one of whom will probably die horribly at some point.
Wain: Although I have just met you, I hate you and want you to leave my house immediately.
Governess: Did I mention that I’m the only person in this film who doesn’t think you’re a dysfunctional weirdo?
Wain: Although I have just met you, I love you and want you to marry me.
Governess: Okay then.
< months pass >
Governess Wife: Oh darling. We are blissfully in love, we live in a beautiful house in the beautiful countryside, and you have a job doing what you love doing. Our lives are perfect.
Random doctor: By the rules of Victorian England, you must now die of an agonising wasting disease.
Wife: Naturally.
< She does >
Wain: Oh dear. My wife is dead, my cat is dead, and one of my sisters has died horribly. By the rules of Victorian England I must go mad and be shut up in an asylum.
< He does >
Another doctor: Hello, I’m Doctor Framingdevice. You may recall me from a brief conversation on the train at the beginning of the film when you drew me a picture of my dog. In recognition of my lifelong admiration for your work and talent, I will release you from this abominable mental asylum and move you to a different abominable mental asylum with slightly better light. You still won’t be cured or spared the horrors of what passes for psychiatric treatment in this era, but at least you’ll be able to draw some cat pictures.
Wain: …Thank you?
There. Now you don’t need to see it.
Minions: The Rise of Gru - Don’t bother.