Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Encanto - Super...boring? Disappointing? Kind of cute? I don't know, man. There's not much else to say about this movie. But I guess I'll try to drum up something from what little I even remember from it. I watched it about 3 weeks ago (yes, that's how behind I am in writing down my thoughts. Another reason why I'll never be a professional critic). So, one thing I remember is that I didn't hate the music as much as other Lin-Manuel Miranda songs. They are actually really beautiful and catchy songs. However, I had heard about the "We Don't Talk About Bruno" song way before watching this, and while it is super catchy, it's not something I would listen to on a regular basis. I also didn't really think the plot made much sense - relying on magic and superstitions, but blaming a child on anything of this magnitude is pretty rude and not really a good message to send to children? And finally, the gifts that the family are given are all actually pretty cool - but clearly the best one is the ability to talk to animals. The animation is fine, but again, nothing about it really stood out. I really hope that it doesn't win over The Mitchells vs The Machines, which is superior in pretty much every way. I think I would even prefer Luca over this, and I didn't even really like that movie. Oh wait, I remember one more thing! I love Stephanie Beatriz! She has a great voice for animation, but also has a lovely singing voice! More roles for her please. Just give her all the roles. 

2. Munich: The Edge of War - I'm a big fan of George MacKay. That's pretty much the reason I watched this movie. He fits into the WWII era so well, too - he has this very classical movie star appeal that I think is kind of rare these days. I'm not familiar with the other guy, Jannis Niewohner, but he is a cutie, too! Anyway, they both lead this movie very well. It reminds me of that Benedict Cumberbatch spy movie from last year, though. It's an espionage on foreign soil, by a non-actual spy story. There's a great intensity of knowing something that can save the world from war, but not being able to do anything about it. I also like the line "Hoping is waiting for someone else to do it". That's a pretty strong statement that can be applied to today's mess of a world (I'm constantly finding myself "hoping" for things to settle down, but I'm not actually actively doing anything about it...). The sheer bravery and selflessness that people possess is really inspiring. I assumed this was based on a true story, which would have been incredible (imagine someone was *that* close to killing Hitler? I like to think there were people in his circle that were trying to do just that). But, alas, just an alternative historical fiction loosely based on some characters and events. It's a solidly gripping and entertaining watch, but not something I'll necessarily remember. 

3. A Hero - I was a bit disappointed by this, but only because I was expecting something a bit more intense, I think. It's very inline with Farhadi's other films, but it doesn't match up to his best film - A Separation, which is just incredible and unforgettable. I just couldn't get into this - it's very slow and very hard to pay attention to, which is definitely a problem considering it's a foreign language film that requires subtitles. I definitely missed a lot of it, but ultimately I got the story - and it's just not very interesting; nor is it as "grey" as I think it intends to be. I mean, I don't think people should be jailed for being in debt, but I also don't think the debt collector is...wrong? If you owe someone money, you need to pay them back. And as far as I can tell, he didn't borrow the money for an emergency (I think it was to start a business that ended up failing). And it is kind of shitty that he's seen as a "hero" because he returns a bag full of money to the rightful owner, which is just basic human decency. None of the acting really stands out for me, either, which is unusual for a Farhadi film - I feel like that's one given among his films - stellar acting and a grey storyline. So I think this is why this one hit me as such a disappointment. It failed to even hold my attention, let alone be memorable. 

4. Bergman Island - I really like most of this movie. But before I go into that, I should say that I definitely need to watch more Ingmar Bergman films. I'm fairly certain that I've only seen three of them - Persona, The Seventh Seal, and Wild Strawberries - and I think I've only watched them for school, never on my own. I will correct this wild blind-spot ASAP. You don't really need to know much about Bergman to enjoy this film, but I do think it would enhance the enjoyment if one was more familiar than I am. The catalyst for the story is that these husband & wife filmmakers spend time in a space that was once inhabited by Bergman as a way to inspire their new projects. It would be really cool to spend time in the same space as someone that you admire, but also as the wife states, super intimidating. I loved the whole beginning and was fully invested in this ominous tone - waiting for something to explode, but instead nothing really happens and it definitely starts to get really boring. I also found myself really, really hating this woman. She goes through her husband's stuff, flirts with a local instead of going on a tour that her husband was super excited about, and says "I don't like it when artists I love don't behave well in real life" (OH, HONEY. Why do people invest so much in celebrities being good people? I don't think we should rely on artists/filmmakers for any moral or ethical inspirations. Most are phony, virtue signaling, performative, walking contradictions). Anyway, I got so bored, I started to focus on small things that irked me (like the way that she typed with her hands lifted off of the keyboard. *Fun Fact About Me* I can type really, really fast. Like, when people see me type they don't actually believe that I'm typing they think that I'm joking. And then they read the screen and they're like "HOLY SHIT how did you do that??" I probably should have been a court stenographer or something to put my skill to good use, but alas, it's a wasted gift. But also, it explains why I make so many grammatical errors - my fingers are faster than my brain and I pretty much skip the editing process altogether. Oooopsie! Add that to the list of reasons why I'm not a professional film critic. That list is growing by the minute!). Luckily, I instantly perked up when Mia Wasikowska appeared (the sole reason I was even watching this movie to begin with). Plus, the story starts to pick back up and it gets really intriguing. The "story within a story" is told really well - and I love that it starts to bleed into the main story. It's been done before and better (most recently with Nocturnal Animals), but it's still a super cool idea that is thought-provoking and memorable. It breaks the rules of storytelling and consistency, and it feels rebellious. Mia is definitely the highlight - she is just so effortlessly cool. Overall, even with the boring middle, this might end up in my updated Best of 2021 list (still a lot more to see though). 

5. Kimi - This is a very successful little thriller! It's basically an update of The Net mixed with Rear Window (otherwise known as my kind of movie!). It's perfectly paced and well-acted. I wasn't really sure if I liked Zoe Kravitz or not - I've seen her in a multitude of things but she's never really made an impression on me (neither bad nor good - she's just...there), but she definitely proves herself in this - pretty much carrying the whole film. I don't use any of those voice activated things - Alexa, Siri etc. because it totally freaks me out to have large corporations listening to me (which is weird because I'm not super private about things and I don't even care if the government is listening to me, which I know is technically bad, but I literally have zero to hide so if they want to listen to me talk about how hot Taron Egerton is, then more power to them!). But, no thank you to Amazon and Apple and Google (my phone once activated to a commercial and it freaked me out but my bf turned it all off for me. I'm super bad at technology.). If you do use these things, and watch this movie then surely you will stop using them, right??? Although I guess it would be useful if you were being murdered. Anyway, I do like how this movie utilizes the pandemic without making it the focus - but it's inherently changed the way people live and it's also caused a lot of regression with people suffering from psychological or emotional disorders, such as agoraphobia, which is featured here (and I also think the pandemic caused some people to develop such issues. I still run in to people at work who tell me it's their first time out in public since the pandemic hit - and it blows my mind every time.). It's super interesting to see the impact within this taut thriller. There are a few minor points that I have problems with - the first being that none of this would work if, once again, people just had window coverings. And second, the blue hair is a flaw in an otherwise strongly developed character. I just don't think someone with agoraphobia would dye their hair in such a stand-out way. Someone like this would prefer to blend in and shrink away from attention. There are also a few camera techniques that felt out of place - the double layered scene imagery that really only works in dream sequences and the freeze-frame ending really hurt my brain. Otherwise, this is very good!