Shape of Water. This one was a big, empty, miss. Not only is it long, it’s also largely uneventful. Looked lovely, but I don’t know what it contains that others find so special.
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I’ve been thinking about what I’d want to reference, were I making a Ready Player One-style nostalgia trip. Of those I don’t recall seeing mentioned, I’m thinking the Dungeons and Dragons animated series, the Rankin/Bass Hobbit and Return of the King, The Black Hole, and the HBO TV movie Cast a Deadly Spell.
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I didn’t have high expectations, but Pacific Rim: Uprising still managed to disappoint me. It managed to ignore most of what the first one did well and double down on what it did poorly. Dialogue is somehow worse than the first movie and for some reason the filmmakers keep thinking that we really care about the barely-written cadets bickering instead of giant robots hitting shit? And why the fuck do we keep trying to make Scott Eastwood happen? At least John Boyega has a good time.
Oh, and Mako basically gets a glorified cameo before getting killed off in an almost flippant way. That’s not a spoiler so much as a warning to stay away.
It was a free screening, but I’m still mad because including travel to Navy Pier (ugh) and waiting in line for a seat, I wasted four and a half hours that I could’ve been doing literally anything else.
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I think I would have loved a movie like that…when I was 10. GCI just doesn’t do it for me anymore unless there is truly a compelling story behind it.
I Kill Giants. A brave attempt at adapting a wonderful graphic novel. Nerdy loner Barbara fights with her siblings at home, and bullies at school. In her own time, she defends her town from giants. Apart from the slightly clumsy introduction of some audience viewpoint stuff, it’s very faithful to the source. Like Bridge to Terabithia, it’s ostensibly a kid’s film that touches on important issues and themes, and if it’s a little too obvious or a little preachy at times, I can forgive it that for its sincerity.
One False Move. A tight little thriller. Three criminals, played by a prematurely aged Billy Bob Thornton, a chilly Michael Beach, and a preternaturally attractive Cynda Williams, commit some murders for drugs and money and flee for more rural environs. Chief of Police of said environs is a cheerfully shitkicking Bill Paxton. Some cold, brutal killings, and good performances by all involved.
Phantom Thread. Day-Lewis has an almost Malkovichian aspect to him, and plays the part with a similarly acerbic edge common to said actor’s performances. Although I’m wont to think couture nothing but gross indulgence of the chronically spoiled, the film still drew me in, with the interactions, especially the arguments, offering some wonderfully sharp, hard edges to a subject otherwise written off as effete. I was impressed in spite of myself by the film. I’m a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson in a strange way, like it’s against my will. Solid gold performance from Lesley Manville, between Day-Lewis’ fragile anger and Vicky Krieps’ stubborn persistence.
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A Quiet Place is the story of how an incredibly dumb family somehow manages to survive more than a year after an alien murderpocalypse because they already knew ASL. It’s a fun time as long as you don’t think about any details at all. The novelty of a big(ish) budget movie that is mostly silent and nearly entirely free of spoken word is probably worth the price of admission or moviepass. You’ll want to see it somewhere with a good sound system, for sure.
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:-l
Dystopian? 
Put it on my list.
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It’s been ages since I read the novel, so I can’t compare the trailer to the source, but it looked good to me.
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Michaels Shannon and B. Jordan are more than enough to get me to watch.
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Isle of Dogs. When it comes to Wes Anderson, you are either on board with the artifice or you are not. I find it delightful, even when it’s being deliberately obfuscatory (parts of the film are in Japanese with no subtitles or other translation). While it’s easy to think of Anderson’s work as being deliberately odd, I do believe it is merely idiosyncrasy, and Isle of Dogs has his traditional eye for detail and feel for fable.
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I’m a fan and can’t wait to see it. Coincidentally, I just introduced my children to Fantastic Mr. Fox today, which is such a wonderful movie. They loved it.
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Life Aquatic is and almost certainly always will be my favorite.
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(it’s too close to Royal Tennenbaums for me to make a call, but I love both of those)
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Oh boy, a favorite Wes Anderson ranking? Impossible. I am quite nostalgic about Rushmore and Tennenbaums, but just about everything he does has been a winner for me. I thought Grand Budapest Hotel was my favorite right when I watched it, but after a bit of time and reflection, it is back to too close to call.
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Rushmore is the funniest, I think. But I like Grand Budabest.
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Liking Wes Anderson’s early work best is surely the most hipster thing of all time.
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(quietly posts bottle rocket gif)
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