Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Cha Cha Real Smooth - I liked this movie quite a bit, but I completely understand the criticism of the lead character. He definitely is a little too "perfect", and I do think that Cooper Raiff may have been a little hesitant to make this character unlikeable, but there is a big difference in making someone flawed and making someone unlikeable. Raiff is super young (25!!), so he has time to grow as a writer. But, maybe because he is so young, I can forgive this aspect of the movie and just find complete joy and sweetness in this character. I am absolutely baffled as to where Raiff came from and how he got this movie made - it doesn't seem like he has famous parents or connections, and, AGAIN, he is ONLY 25. He's also got great screen presence - just really charming (a perfect mix of David Tennant and Adam Scott). Dakota Johnson is also quite charming. She gets better with every role, which is exciting to me. I also adore Leslie Mann (I can't believe she is 50!!). And Vanessa Burghardt is a star. Her performance is probably my favorite of the film. I do think it's a little too long for the simpleness of the plot. It's also very obvious that a guy wrote this - ****spoiler**** the miscarriage scene is very well-done, but then the plot just accelerates into an unrealistic sex scene (there is not one woman in this entire world who would even think about having sex directly after a miscarriage. Not one.). And the guy who plays her husband is a terrible actor. So, there are obvious flaws in the movie. However, as a whole, I really liked it, there's a lot of compassion and thoughtfulness within the characters, and it's just really sweet. 

2. Spiderhead - I know, I know, I should have expected dull and boring, but I thought maybe it could be good (some Netflix movies have been good, but none of them have starred Chris Hemsworth - and yes, that was a dig at Extraction, which somehow is getting a sequel?! LOL.). For what it's worth, Hemsworth does a decent job in this (and he's very pretty) and Miles Teller is great (on a sidenote - recently everyone at my work was talking about how hot he is and I just do not see it, but I like him as an actor very much). The acting is definitely not the problem. Even the plot is pretty interesting - the idea that you can make people attracted to each other by altering their chemicals is fascinating. It is all based on chemical reactions so theoretically it can be altered. I watched a movie not that long ago that had a similar premise called The Killing Room (people in a room being tested on with Chloe Sevigny watching their reactions. It was also bad). The biggest problem with the movie is just that it's very tedious to sit through. It's amazing that you can have a strong premise and solid performances and still have a less than 2 star movie. I can't really pinpoint the problem - boring dialogue, perhaps? Nothing felt unexpected, and when it starts to pick up the end, it also just becomes really ridiculous (with them running and "You Make My Dreams (Come True)" playing. Just so stupid). 

3. Belfast - Ooooof. My expectations were through the roof with this - I honestly thought it would be among my Top 5 of 2021. It seems like my thing, plus Jamie Dornan with his Irish accent?! YES PLEASE. It's not a bad movie - solid 3 stars, but that's definitely a disappointment. Like a big huge crushing disappointment. There's a lot to like about it - particularly Caitriona Balfe's performance. I don't think I've ever seen her in anything before, but is it weird that I recognized her from the heavily promoted Outlander advertising?? I don't watch it and not a single person I know watches it, but the producers market that show like it's the number one show of the decade. I think EW had like 6 covers of it (speaking of, I had a subscription to Entertainment Weekly for over 20 years. I'm so sad that they ended their magazines and do online only content now - meaning I'll probably never read another article again. So sad). Balfe is just incredible and has amazing screen presence. I also like the black & white - I'm not usually a fan of this for modern movies, but it works here. The scene featuring "Everlasting Love" is adorable, beautifully shot, and full of such joy - a scene that I will likely remember for years to come. Other than that, though, the rest is just...there. Dornan feels miscast. I usually like stories of people having a link or connection to a certain place, like Midnight's Children, and the movie this got compared to a lot, Roma, but this just didn't work for me. 

4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - I think this may be the first time that I ignored all of the reviews and went into a Marvel movie with super low expectations. I feel like I was burned so badly by Spider-Man: No Way Home, I just can't let it happen again! So I expected this to be a big mess of a film like many Marvel movies before it, and that's exactly what I got. Also, while I was a fan of the first Doctor Strange movie, I don't particularly remember much about it other than some of the scenes being super cool. Doctor Strange is such an asshole of a character (and not in the good, fun way like Iron Man), so he's not someone that I really want to watch more of. I was surprisingly able to stay relatively spoiler-free since its initial release (the only thing I saw was ****spoiler**** that John Krasinski was cast as Mr. Fantastic, but honestly, I thought that was already a thing, but I guess it was just fan casting that turned into the real thing - but not really because it's a different multiverse?? Also, stop letting the internet make casting decisions! I feel like this is going to happen with Taron in talks for Wolverine. Years ago, when he did press with Hugh Jackman for Eddie the Eagle, multiple outlets were reporting that Hugh was going to be done with Wolverine leading so many people to question Taron if he would be interested and he specifically said that he didn't think he'd be right for the role, but the damn internet won't give it up and now it seems likely to happen). That being said, none of it felt particularly surprising. The scene mentioned above with the introduction of Mr. Fantastic and others is definitely clever - *more spoilers*, with Professor X (would have definitely preferred McAvoy, but whatever), Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter (what an absolute snoozefest of a character) and Anson Mount from The Inhumans tv show (which made me question if I watched that show??? It seems so familiar, but I searched my blog and my twitter handle and I've never mentioned it - so I guess I never watched it? But I love me some Anson Mount!). But again, it also feels a bit like fan service and that never ends well. At first, I was excited by more Scarlet Witch, but then I realized they were basically rehashing WandaVision - why did I watch an entire miniseries if they were just going to do it again with this movie?? It all feels a bit pointless. I think the biggest success is the more horror aspect - a lot of these films are starting to blend together so anything that veers from the formula is welcome. Having Sam Raimi direct it and go full "Raimi" is super cool to watch. The nods to Evil Dead, Carrie, and The Grudge were definitely appreciated (and I'm sure there were even more horror references that I didn't notice). It still doesn't make up for the actual movie being a pointless, mess of a movie. 

5. Parallel Mothers - Yay! I loved this. I feel like it's been a really, really long time since I've loved a highly praised movie! Penelope Cruz is spectacular (but I still think Jessica Chastain rightfully won that Oscar). Pedro Almodovar is definitely among my favorite directors. The only movie that I didn't absolutely love is his previous one - Pain and Glory. I really want to watch his pre-All About My Mother stuff. He has a huge filmography of films I've never even heard of. Anyway, this movie is such a powerful story of motherhood and human connection. It takes some really unexpected twists and turns, and I could easily argue that some of it was unnecessary (and don't even get me started on the age difference!), but I also found it very exciting and rebellious in a way. *slight spoilers ahead* I didn't really know what it was about going in, but the story is really terrifying and seems like something that couldn't happen in the present day. The horror of taking your baby home, falling in love with them, and then finding out that they aren't biologically yours? Just heartbreaking. I also find it terrifying that Penelope Cruz gets accidentally pregnant at her age (she's 48 in real life, I don't know how old she is supposed to be in this, but clearly in her 40s. Absolutely stunning, but definitely in her 40s). I like to think that it's over for me and not something I need to worry about, but it could technically still happen and I would be so fucking pissed if it did (I have so many travel plans!). Anyway, I really love the colors used in this (the bright reds and yellows) - it's very noticeable, but also it feels like it's done very purposefully - every item of clothing, every set piece is perfectly picked and placed in each scene. Just stunning.