On a flight today, I saw a couple of movies, including Landscape with Invisible Hand, set after an alien invasion. The aliens have introduced new technologies but left many humans searching for ways to get by. The movie focuses on two high school students who try to make money by broadcasting their love life to the aliens.
Just watched Living, about a man who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to do something worthwhile with his life before he goes. Stars Bill Nighy and a bunch of other actors who I didn’t recognise. Not quite what I expected from the trailer, which painted it as more like the opening scenes of Joe Vs The Volcano but it was still quite a nice, affecting, leisurely-paced drama, if you’re in the mood for it.
I hope you’ll see Kurosawa’s Ikiru, sometime, which you probably know is its inspiration. I don’t like to do movie + remake comparison film festivals, but it is one of those movies that should be seen for itself.
Last night we watched 1975’s The Legend of Lizzie Borden, which held up pretty well. Despite its Kung Fu/The Waltons-era production values, it captures the 1890’s morose darkness of that time period, found in Ambrose Bierce, Steven Crane and Eugene O’Neill. The explanation it gives for how the killer was never punished is a lame imagining that “coincidentally” adds some softcore porn. (Maybe I should do a comparison film fest and see how the Christina Ricci version pulled it off).
I also thought Poor Things was excellent, one of the best films of the year. I am utterly perplexed at how someone could think it was misogynistic. It seemed like it was an “ultra feminist” film. (I’d never want to watch it with a parent though!)
So, the following is largely my daughter’s argument, but I largely agree with it…
About 10, 15 minutes after Emily Stone appeared, Sophia leaned over to me and said “I bet this was written and directed by a man”. And it was - the director was male, the screenwriter was male, the original book was written by a man.
Her issue is this: So often, it appears men can only relate to women via their sexuality. And the way that men portray how women grow as a person is through “sexual awakening” motifs. In PT (the film, not the book which I (nor her) haven’t read), it was particularly maddening. For example, the main character was created by a mad scientist, but she ‘finds herself’ via sexual relations with men, including an incredibly long and incredibly forced section of the movie where she becomes an earner in a bordello. All the other women in the movie were also sexualized objects, every single one of them. The men had jobs, they had inner thoughts, they had their issues, but the women?
The movie only looked at them through the lens of sex.
Why? Why couldn’t she have found herself by becoming a mad scientist? Or an industrialist who uses God’s findings to build an empire? No, all that was ignored so we could see Ms. Stone’s breasts and (likely CGI’d) bush.
It was trite. It was common. It was Pleasantville (another film which had this motif) meets Frankenstein. It had nothing to say about being a woman, being an outcast, nothing. Hell, even the poster has a vagina motif in it. 
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It was a bad movie, and while I didn’t use the word “misogynistic”, that word is quite appropriate to define it.
We recently watched Leave the World Behind and I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It required too much suspension of disbelief. As a matter of fact, I didn’t like it all. I for one, was not on the edge of my seat. I didn’t even make it to the end, as I was already up past my normal bedtime. What was it supposed to be? A conspiracy theory movie? A social commentary movie? An apocalypse movie? Science fiction? The movie couldn’t makes up its mind, IMHO. Maybe I’m just too dumb to understand it but I’d give it a C only because we are supposed to be extra nice during the holidays.
Huh. I loved LtWB. I wonder if one’s attitude towards this film matches (if watched) the attitude towards LOST, another piece of fiction light on the explanations and heavy on the characters.
Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom. Decently entertaining movie that could have used another going-over by an editor and might have been better as a miniseries, perhaps.
To that end … I watched The Flash (2023) yesterday. I kind of dialed it up on a whim and I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to watch it as I’m not much of a DC comics guy. I don’t really know much about any backstories besides Superman and Batman so I always end up white-knuckling it through these movies. My other reservation was the whole time travel/multiverse angle of it. First of all … a little unoriginal, but mostly I was concerned because I never get everything I’m supposed to get on the first view. But I enjoyed it, and I followed it pretty well. I liked all the different Batmans and Supermans in the multiverse and I wasn’t as irritated by Ezra Miller as I thought I’d be.
I liked The Flash except for the weird cameos section near the end. Didn’t need it and the movie was fun and charming otherwise.
I definitely will need to see that one.
I saw The Polar Express. I hadn’t seen it before. Some of the scenes were downright magical. Sometimes it dragged. But overall I can see it being a classic.
And today we watched The Muppets: Treasure Island. I loved Tim Curry. How can you not love Tim Curry? I think I still prefer the Muppets Christmas Carol better, but it was a solid kids movie. My son stayed interested the whole time.
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant 2023 with Jake Gyllenhaal
Free on Amazon Prime
I enjoyed it. But probably wouldn’t spend time watching it again. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 83% positive rating.
I got a little frustrated with the Americans being so hopelessly outgunned and mission compromised.They couldn’t rip a fart without the Taliban knowing. There was one ambush after another. They wanted to show the Interpreter in a heroic light. But went overboard with the inept Americans.
The 2nd story of the abandoned, heroic Interpreter is much more interesting. But the effort to save him becomes yet more non-stop firefights.
I would have enjoyed the movie with more suspense and spy craft. Rather than non-stop firefights that the plucky Americans lose or barely survive.
If you enjoy improbable firefights wirh lots of stuff blowing up than you’ll love this movie.
I was disappointed they borrowed Marcus Luttrell and Mohammad Gulab’s real war experience for a key plot point. I hope the 2 men were compensated.
We love that fiml, and yes, it did drag a bit a little.
The theme opening credits of tMTI-song is fantastic. best pirate song ever.
Rebel Moon Zak Snyder Remake of Battle Beyond the Stars (itself a remake of Magnificent Seven (itself a remake of Seven Samurai set in the Old West ) set in space). About the quality you would expect of a copy of a copy of a copy.
Rewatched Back to the Future with the kids. Still a classic. Couldn’t figure out why Loraine’s family would stick Marty in their daughter’s room and take his pants off to sleep off a head injury for nine hours instead of taking him to a hospital after hitting Marty with their car.
Candy Cane Lane - Funny enough Netflix quality Eddie Murphy film.
Leave the World Behind - It does the job well enough as an entry into the “apocalyptic chamber-piece” creating an atmosphere of tense isolation.
Saltburn - For people who thought The Talented Mr Ripley wasn’t gay or creepy enough.
I enjoyed it but as you said, it is somewhat derivative of other works.
There is also The Outpost about the real life siege of Combat Outpost Keating that some planners had the brilliant foresight to built at the bottom of a valley.
American Sniper also ends with a small squad nearly be overwhelmed by attackers.
It’s kind of like, the United States has the largest, most powerful war machine in history. Every war movie does not need to become a small detachment of plucky soldiers defending The Alamo against unwinnable odds until they can call in the AC-130 gunship.
I also recently watched Eye in the Sky. It has a great cast and explores the morality of collateral damage from drone strikes in a sort of “Trolley Problem” context. In this particular case, weighing the life of one little girl against an immanent terrorist attack that will kill hundreds, Although perhaps it would be more accurate to portray weighing the cost of killing dozens of innocent people to kill one terrorist.
I don’t think they say, but they might have thought he was generally OK and not worth making a big fuss…or contacting the police. Did Lorraine’s Dad think he full blown hit a kid, not knowing the peeping-tom angle?
I watched Paul last night, one of my all-time faves. Man, I would love to go on a road trip with those guys.
Went to see Godzilla Minus One yesterday. Highly recommended. Pepper Mill didn’t go, because she thought it would be as stupid as the recent American-made ones with Kong, but it’s a pretty impressive and surprisingly moving re-imagining of the franchise. I especially liked the shout-outs to the 1954 original, including incorporating the original “defending against Godzilla” march into the score, the journalists reporting on Godzilla’s attack from a nearby building (and the building then being knocked down), the use of a bubbling device to try to destroy Godzilla, and ending with Godzilla’s thundering steps and roar after the final credits. It’s a movie you don’t have to make excuses for.
I also watched The Maze in 3D. It’s another of those 3D movies starring Richard Carlson. Imagine that someone has taken the basic concept from The Shadow over Innsmouth and managed to turn it into a very boring movie, but with great 3D. That’s this film. I was going to show it at Arisia this year (I’ve lined up a bunch of 3D anaglyphic films for midnight shows), but this one literally put me to sleep. Even the jump scares didn’t work.
I mean, McFly was unconscious for like nine hours. I don’t remember if they called a doctor to check out his brain with a stethoscope or anything like that.
Lorraine’s Dad seems to me to be someone who thinks with his gut.