Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Annihilation - I don't know...I'm a bit disappointed. It was just hyped so much, and overall I wasn't impressed. It has some really beautiful moments and the cast is great, but the story is predictable and it felt very repetitive. After watching it, I thought that maybe it would be one of those films that stuck with me; that maybe after thinking on it, it would improve. That's not the case, at all. It's spectacularly unmemorable. I watched it over a month ago now, and I'm struggling to remember it enough to write about it. There was a tense scene with a bear....maybe? I do remember how beautiful every scene looked - so colorful, dense, and detailed. And I also remember how great the cast is, especially Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh because they are awesome. I'm super curious about the book, though. I know someone who thinks the book is awesome and someone else who calls the book "the worst book I've ever read" (and I trust both of them). I'm adding it to my reading list. I've been reading a lot more this year, which is why I've had even less time for movies. I realized at the end of 2017 that I only read 4 books and that is disgraceful! So this year I have a goal of at least 25 (I'm on #13 right now so right on track!).

2. American Made - I wasn't really expecting too much from this movie. Just Tom Cruise charming his way out of some drug smuggling situations. I'm a big fan of the Netflix show Narcos (oooooh Narcos! How did I forget about this show when I was writing my previous post about the best shows from this past season??? It should totally be on there.), and they briefly mention this American pilot who smuggled drugs for Escobar. It's a crazy interesting story, but this movie doesn't really capture anything interesting. It also gets really repetitive towards the end. Cruise is perfect for the role, but I think they seriously underutilized the supporting actors (did Lola Kirke even have any lines?). They spent too much time trying to make us like this guy (which was obvious the second they cast Cruise in the role), but to me, it just made the whole thing boring. We get it, it's Tom Cruise - we already like him, just get on with the story!

3. Phantom Thread - Interesting story about toxic relationships, which is not what I thought this movie was about. I guess I didn't really know what this movie was about because I never saw the trailer - I only knew that Daniel Day Lewis is in it and it's directed by PTA (sold!). I appreciate certain aspects of the movie - the biggest is PTA's directing/writing style. The story is layered, subtle, and unexpected. It can be interpreted several ways. I've read a few articles about the film's "meaning" out of curiosity, and it's fascinating how contradictory everyone's interpretations are. Is it a film about toxic masculinity? The fragility of the male ego? Is it a film about feminism? The struggle for women to take up more space in a "man's world"? Is it a love story? I don't have the answers for you. For me, it's a film about a narcissistic asshole and this stubborn woman who thinks she can change him. They are both abusive in their own way and they need each-other. And I think that can be true of many modern relationships (I wouldn't call that "love" though). While the themes are all fascinating, my problem with the movie is that it is booooooorrrrriiiiing. And, man, those dresses are ugly.

4. The Disaster Artist - NOPE. I don't get it. I didn't think I would, considering that I haven't seen The Room, but from what I've read and seen about it and of Tommy Wiseau, I could tell it wasn't going to be my thing. The Disaster Artist is a well-made film, don't get me wrong, and James Franco is superb, but I just can't get into a story about an arrogant, self-absorbed, delusional, obnoxious asshole treating people like garbage in order to "follow his dream" and then everyone having a big laugh about it. It's actually fucking disgusting. There's a big difference between not caring what people think about you, and being so self-involved that you think it's ok to ruin the experience that other people are having. I'm talking specifically about the scene in the diner where they start loudly reciting their lines - the fucking nerve - people are trying to enjoy a meal with their friends/family, shut the fuck up! Tommy's point is that you shouldn't care if people are looking at you and judging you (true), but that doesn't give you permission to be rude. Anyway, even though the whole movie pissed me off, James Franco deserved the Oscar nomination (and maybe even the win) - the controversy hurt his chances, which is a necessary result BUT then Gary Oldman won, um....so....that's awkward.

5. Red Sparrow - Not nearly as bad as I was expecting - I actually kind of liked it? I think people were expecting something more action-packed and fun - and in that way, it would definitely be disappointing. But I liked that it is dark (like really fucking dark), and it's more about the harrowing abuse that these Red Sparrows had to suffer in order to serve their country. It's really interesting to think about in the context of other famous Russian spy characters (Elizabeth from The Americans comes to mind - because she is fucking ruthless and I LOVE it, but a character like this probably suffered the realities depicted in this movie). I don't think Jennifer Lawrence was right for this role - first, that accent was ROUGH - she was focused on the accent so much that her face did not move for the entirety of the movie; second, she seems so much older than she is, so when Joely Richardson is her mother and Matthias Shoenaerts is her uncle - it seems weird. The ending was twisty, but all sort of obvious (and I don't think it would actually make sense if I watched it again and put the pieces together). I do think it's an interesting concept, and an interesting start to something, it just never quite gets there, though.