Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Jurassic World Dominion - Well, it's certainly better than the second one so that's a plus, I guess! It doesn't have dinosaurs walking on glass rooftops, which is probably the only thing that I remember from the second one (it's literally scarred into my brain). I didn't even remember who this seemingly important character, Maisie Lockwood, was (my husband had to give me a little plot summary because I was so lost). The whole first hour that is based around her is really, really, really fucking boring. It doesn't really get any better, until the actual dinosaur carnage which isn't until the last, like, 20 minutes. I loved all the little nostalgic moments that referenced Jurassic Park. It was lovely seeing Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum back together again. BUT, I was really waiting for an appearance from Lex and Tim. I care way more about them than any of the new characters (honestly would have laughed if the pilot lady died - what a horrendously annoying character. And the little girl wasn't going to die, obvi, but I would just shrugged if she did). It's kind of weird that they didn't include them in this - they are just as iconic as the adult characters from the original. I don't know about the actress that played Lex, but I know Joseph Mazzello is still acting (he was just in Bohemian Rhapsody a few years ago). Anyway, it's not exactly terrible, just really disappointing. I'm glad this franchise is finished (for now, at least). 

2. Somebody I Used to Know - Alison Brie is so fucking adorable it hurts. The movie is...okay, but definitely enhanced by how adorable Alison is. I also love Dave Franco. I actually can't decide which one of them I love more. They are one of my favorite Hollywood couples and I hope that they continue to make movies together (Franco directed and co-wrote this). I also love Jay Ellis (he is so HOT. I rooted for him hard in Insecure) and Kiersey Clemons (someone please keep her away from the superhero genre though. She excels in films like this). So, obviously I was all in with just the cast alone. But it's a cute movie, just not great. It's basically My Best Friend's Wedding, except it's about an ex-boyfriend getting married instead of a best friend you might be in love with. I think it could have been A LOT funnier, because my biggest problem with it is that it takes itself too seriously. There's only one really great scene - and it's literally a direct copy of My Best Friend's Wedding karaoke scene (just role-reversed); it's even referenced within the scene. BUT, MY GOD Alison Brie in that white button down with the bikini top and cut-off shorts improvising lyrics to that Third Eye Blind song is just a perfect scene. I could just watch that for hours. *spoiler ahead* I thought *for sure* there was going to be some sort of mix up with her trying to ruin the wedding by inviting the bride's parents but instead her assistant finds the groom's real parents instead??? There's a really weird foreshadowing scene where she is telling her assistant to find the parents of the person in the picture but it's of both the bride and groom. But then I realized that they instead were only constantly bringing up the fact that he's adopted so that he could have the acceptable excuse for being an emotionally abusive controlling asshole because of "abandonment issues". What a load of garbage. 

3. Tar - This is a very good movie, a little overhyped, but it's good. It definitely doesn't need to be 2 1/2 hours long, that's for damn sure. But, as expected Cate Blanchett is spectacular - I think the Oscar is hers (although I wouldn't be mad at Michelle Yeoh winning). I like that it's told as a biopic within this fictional world. It definitely tricks you into thinking it's about this real person, Lydia Tar, a supposed world-renowned conductor and EGOT winner (not sure that's possible, though - how would a conductor win an Emmy or Oscar? Is she also a composer? Okay...I just looked it up and she is supposed to be a composer too, so I stand corrected). I think it's an interesting take on the whole idea of a "cancel culture" (which I don't really think exists - most people who are "canceled" within the entertainment industry are still working, but they might not be getting the jobs that they want as a repercussion to their OWN ACTIONS). It's also important that it's based on a woman in a position of power - because I think it's assumed that only men take advantage when they are in positions of power, but it's definitely a human flaw (men just happen to have more positions of power). As soon as you know where the story is going, which happens in an early scene with her students, in which she tells one of her students "don't be so easily offended" - which is often a tactic of abusers (convince you that you're overreacting), the anticipation of her inevitable downfall is particularly interesting. I'm the first one to say that we have turned into this "easily offended" culture and in terms of certain things, I think it's way overblown (comedians tell jokes - sometimes they are offensive, and also sometimes people might offend without meaning to and the internet seems to overblow every situation). But in terms of professional and educational settings we, as a society, need to do better in terms of who we study and celebrate. I think it's interesting that there is this whole backlash against critics describing this as "funny" because it very clearly is a satire, especially with that ending. The whole idea of it is actually very funny if you think about it. 

4. Aftersun - This is pretty close to a perfect movie for me - I rated it 4.5 stars which, just to give some perspective, I've only rated one other movie 4.5 stars in the last 4 years and only 22 movies in the last decade (and that's only because 2013 was an incredible year - 8 movies at 4.5 stars!). But honestly, ratings are irrelevant - I try not to get to caught up in them. Instead I like to focus on my thoughts and feelings while watching a film (sounds cornier than I intended, but it's true!). I went into this fairly cold - but I did have high expectations from the resounding praise. I do admit that I was a little confused by it in the beginning - it's a simple story about a father & daughter on vacation. It seemed slow and it felt like I was watching someone else's home videos, which is never as interesting as the person showing you the videos thinks it is. I started to question why anyone would want to see this? I found my thoughts drifting to vacations as a child, and I found this odd connection with the way this father/daughter interacted in a similar way to the way I interacted with my cousin. He was only 7 years older than me, but I think he always tried to take on a big brother/fatherly presence in my life because he knew that I lacked that. All of these memories of him came flooding back, and then my heart stopped because I suddenly realized what this movie was about. I've spent the last 14 years desperately trying to hold on to memories of my cousin because he died by suicide. And I'm constantly haunted by this feeling of "I should have known", searching my memories for the signs. I realized that I was watching this young girl's memories of her father in the same way that I desperately try to remember my cousin, but I hoped I was wrong. And then she steps on that fucking carpet and I literally felt like I was stabbed in the heart. I don't know how I didn't burst into tears, but I think it was mostly because of how shocked I was - what a stunningly beautiful way to show grief within the film medium. It's not just the subtlety of the story, the little moments of brokenness, it's also the actual use of film technique. The shots are impeccable. There is an entire scene shown through a reflection on a black television screen. The intermixing of the home video shots, with shots like these to convey a "memory" is so well done and smart. I don't feel like a lot of filmmakers focus on composition of shots and character blocking anymore (at least in a way that feels natural as opposed to experimental), but this film should be studied for this purpose. When it ended, I sat for a few minutes actually considering pressing the restart button - just to focus on all of these details, but decided I wanted to sit with it for a little while before watching again. I don't understand how Charlotte Wells isn't nominated for an Oscar for this. 

5. Sharper - I can't believe how many reviews I read that called this movie "smart". It's the dumbest most predictable movie I've seen in a long time. If it wasn't for the (mostly) terrific cast and the sleekness of the film itself, I would have rated it far lower. I say mostly, but I really just mean Julianne Moore, John Lithgow, and a scene-stealing and stunning performance from Briana Middleton. As you may already know, I'm not a fan of Sebastian Stan (he's not a good actor and YET he keeps getting so many roles! I don't understand it at all), nor am I a fan of Justice Smith. As soon as I saw him, I remembered him being in something recently that I liked but hated him in it (I looked it up and it's The Voyeurs), but I tried not to let it effect my viewing of this. However, he's really bad here (he's also apparently in the Jurassic World movies. I don't even remember him, and I literally watched Dominion a week before this. Probably better to be unmemorable though, as opposed to horrendously bad). There is something about his voice - the way that it's so monotoned. It just renders him emotionless, and he's definitely supposed to be the character that we care about in this. Anyway, *some spoilers ahead, although the film is so easy to figure out, I don't really feel like I'm spoiling much* It's so incredibly obvious that the woman walking into the bookshop is a con-artist from the moment she is introduced. And then it's so incredibly obvious that John Lithgow is his "rich" father that he gets the money from, therefore making SebStan (the man behind the original scam) his "step-brother". Then it's super obvious that Moore is in on it too (sorry, I'm using the actor names because I'm too lazy to look up their character names). I was slightly surprised by the relationship twist behind Stan and Moore, but that's probably it. The ending is even worse with the predictable "twist" after "twist". It's certainly not smart. There's one cute scene, though - the one with Stan and Moore dancing after they pull off their heist successfully. They certainly have chemistry together.