Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Babylon - Well, I LOVED it. This is Chazelle's fourth film in a row that has ended up on my Top 10 of the year lists (not to mention - they are his only four films). I don't think any other modern director has accomplished that for me (Affleck had three and then bombed with Live by Night). I understand why others might not like it - it's obscenely grandiose, loud, messy, and over-stimulating, but at its heart it is about the love of film-making, and loving something is accepting all of the things that you hate about it as well. This film is definitely not made for the masses (the first 20 minutes sure make that clear), but anyone with an affinity and/or understanding of film-making and acting will definitely have more of an interest in it. I feel like Chazelle is making a strong point about the "movie star" aspect of making a movie, as we watch the rise (and fall) of the movie star within the transition of silent films to films with sound, and that's the part that interests me the most. Margot Robbie proves the vital acting ingredient is an often ignored aspect in modern films: screen presence. As she says "You don't become a star. You either are, or you ain't". And let me tell you, Robbie is a STAR. I don't think acting is necessarily hard, but there is certainly a skill to it. Robbie shows this skill, while still showing that her actual presence is what makes this movie work so well. Her character becomes the biggest Hollywood silent star, but then once the business changes towards films with sound, she fails miserably. I also think showing the difference in how films are made pre and post sound, is a striking contrast. The chaos of the first production is sort of mind-blowing because as someone who has been on a few film sets - I baulked at the wildness of it all. There are so many scenes happening at the same time - there's a randomness to it all, but it also looks like A BLAST. But once sound is introduced...guess what? Film sets are not fun. You can never film a production like that again because the noise would just bleed into everything. I know technology has changed a lot, and now they can isolate noises and clean up sound in post, but it's still kind of a miserable experience. There's so much standing around on film sets - waiting and waiting. And then when something is actually finally filmed, they film it a MILLION times (at least that's what it feels like). I think you have to have a specific personality for finding that fulfilling, but I just couldn't do it. I'm going off-topic a bit, but my point is that the scene that they film later within this film, with sound, is painstakingly accurate. Anyway, back to Robbie, because she is stunning in this (I definitely would have put her in the Best Actress Oscar category - I would have picked her, Rebecca Hall, Thuso Mbedu, Ana de Armas and maybe Mia Goth? Although I did just watch Official Competition and Penelope Cruz is an acting force! My point is that neither Yeoh or Blanchett deserved that spot and that's coming from someone who loves them both. And I haven't seen Till yet). I don't necessarily like her NY/NJ accent (she did it well in The Wolf of Wall Street but then everything else has been way overdone), but otherwise she proves here how incredibly diverse of an actress she is. While this is Chazelle's fourth incredible movie, I do still feel like I don't know who he is yet - I still see inspiration from other directors like Luhrmann & Tarantino with this, while I've seen references to Spielberg and Greengrass in his previous efforts. But I also think that's the difference between someone who studied filmmaking - it's harder to become an auteur or do anything unexpected and/or experimental if you're constantly pulling from the other filmmakers. I do think he has a knack for incorporating music and/or sound (it's a theme in all four films) - and he's fully aware of how to make a film an experience. And those sets are gorgeous. This definitely should have swept a few Oscar categories (Production Design, Sound, Cinematography). 

2. Luther: The Fallen Sun - I'm a big fan of the Luther tv series - it was a pre-cursor to Killing Eve (which was a great show until it wasn't). Luther is one of my favorite television characters EVER, and Idris Elba is perfect in this role. I was a little disappointed to find out that Alice (Ruth Wilson) isn't in this, although ****spoiler**** did she die in the series??? I can't really remember. But it's a little weird that she isn't even mentioned in this considering that she's such a major character. But I like that they gave Luther his own story and this feels just like an extended episode. Plus, Cynthia Erivo is in this, and I love her probably just as much as Ruth Wilson. And Andy Serkis is an excellent bad guy. I have a funny Andy Serkis story, though, because my husband and I were trying to finish Andor (ugh...such a chore) and he turned to me when Serkis was onscreen and said "what do I know him from?". My husband doesn't watch a lot of movies/tv so I thought of what the most obvious thing would be and I said "Gollum?" and he said "Jesus Christ, you're so mean sometimes! He looks like a normal man, stop being so judgmental!" and I was super confused until I realized that he thought I was saying that Serkis was ugly and looked like a Gollum type creature. I almost died from laughing so hard, which made my husband even more upset. "It's not funny! You're really mean!". Through my laughter, I said "NOoooo. He's Gollum. Like actually did the mo-cap for Gollum. I thought that's why you might recognize him." "OHHHHHH, yes....that is where I know him from". LOL. I'll never forget it. Annnnyway...he's great in this (the wig...is...not good), and I think sometimes he's overlooked as an actor just because he's so good doing the mo-cap stuff that he does. The story is very dark, as expected, and it moves very quickly. And I love how they ended it with this Bond-esque teaser - he's definitely being recruited into...something, and with all the Bond rumors that have surrounded Elba for years (that are obviously not happening. I'm pretty sure Aaron Taylor-Johnson has that in the bag, unfortunately), it's cool that the Luther story is just going to create their own version. 

3. Armageddon Time - Such a forgettable movie - I watched it a few weeks ago and barely remember it! *must refer to my notes! And apparently, I wrote a lot of notes!* As soon as I started watching it, I realized that this is the project that Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong were working on when she tried to defend him for his method acting nonsense (sorry, but I think it's nonsense. I think Taron Egerton had the best response to it recently when he also called it nonsense, and remarked that it can sometimes lead to wonderful performances but a good actor should be able to act without using this method. He also pointed out that he would prefer to have a respectful working environment and sometimes method acting gets in the way of that. I'm paraphrasing because I don't feel like looking up the article right now, but it's close enough and he's right. And perfect, but that's another topic.). The hilarious part of this is that I've always loved Jeremy Strong, but lately, I've found his acting almost cartoonish (while I like Succession, I don't think Strong is the highlight). In this, it's almost unbearable to watch - and it feels like he's doing a Ray Romano impression. Like full-on Ray Romano. But, he sort of matches what everyone in the cast is doing. I love Anthony Hopkins (obviously, doesn't everyone?), but this is the worst casting decision I've seen in a while. There are plenty of actors in their 80s who would fit this bill (Jewish New Yorker), and I don't always believe that you need to cast to specific identities, but Hopkins does nothing to convince me he is a Jewish New Yorker (he doesn't even try to hide his Welsh accent). Anne Hathaway, somehow overdoes her New York accent, even though she's FROM NEW YORK. It's all just cringe. Just major cringe. And it's not even a good story - it's basically trying to conflate the plight of Jews with the plight of black people in America, but as they even talk about in the movie, Jewish people can assimilate, we can change our name, etc., but you can't change your skin color. And I'm saying that as a someone who is from a Jewish family with a very Jewish last name. The film takes place in the 80s, but I don't think that much has changed (unfortunately), so I feel like this story, which is based on the writer/director's (James Grey), own childhood is kind of racist. It's like this white guilt, "but it's not my fault because I'm not racist, I had a black friend growing up!", combined with "but my life was also difficult" BULLSHIT. His life is basically a dramatic version of The Goldbergs and if you've ever watched that show (you should - it is hilarious), you'll know that those kids have the fucking best life imaginable. Like I'm supposed to sympathize with you because your parents love you and want you to have the best education? OH NO POOR GUY. *some spoilers ahead* I do feel bad when his grandpa dies, but, I mean...that happens to everyone? My grandfather also died of bone cancer and was a big presence in my life as a child. He died when I was 16 and it sucked, but it's not interesting enough to make a movie about! Also, not interesting - the fact that he and his black friend commit a crime and only his black friend got caught. I feel like this happened/s to every white kid who had/s black friends (definitely happened to me. And yes, I still feel guilty about it, but I wouldn't make a movie about it. LOL). Anyway, as you can tell. I hated this movie. Actually it's not memorable enough for me to hate it, but I definitely hated watching it. I will say, though, that the two kid actors are wonderful (and completely superior to the big named co-stars). Oh and Jessica Chastain shows up in a *blink and you'll miss it* moment as Donald Trump's sister! How weird. 

4. Lady Chatterley's Lover - I watched this for Jack O'Connell. He's just dreamy. (I HAVE A TYPE OBVI). I've been a fan since Skins, but I thought *for sure* that his career would really take off after Unbroken. I mean, he's been steadily working since then, but nothing that has really made him a star (at least in America. I can guarantee that I know *maybe* two people in real life who would know him by name. Anyway, I will watch anything that he's in (and I've only seen one bad performance from him, that's not even worth mentioning the title). However, as you may know already, I think Emma Corrin is a terrible actor (is the non-binary word for actor/actress just actor? That seems wrong somehow?). I hated them in The Crown, I don't care how many awards they won for that performance, it was God-awful. And I've seen a few other things now to make a solid judgment call that I'm not a fan. I've never read this novel, but the story is definitely familiar (maybe I've seen a previous movie version?). There are aspects of it that I really, really like. It's super horny and the sex scenes are explicit, which is somehow being scrutinized these days, but I love a good sex scene between hot people! I wish these two had a bit more chemistry, but there's a lot of nakedness and hot sex. Love it. It also has a really consistent pace and interesting dialogue - like the line "the mechanical act of sex is nothing compared to a life lived together". I do think that sex is an important part of a relationship, but certainly not *the most* important. It would definitely suck if your partner was injured like that or sick etc., that would prevent a satisfying sexual relationship, but that's kind of a part of the whole "marriage" thing - to accept that and to promise to still be there. To live a life together, no matter what happens. It's interesting that he encourages her to seek pleasure outside of their marriage (I don't think that's an acceptable solution for most nowadays. Or maybe even then, I guess), but if you think of sex as a "mechanical act", then this would make sense. Realistically, though, for most, sex is not a mechanical act, it's more often than not, a very emotional act. Anyway, I definitely found myself enthralled by the whole plot for its entirety, which surprised me because it's a romance drama that is over 2 hours long. I just wish I liked the lead more (I would have loved if Ella Hunt was the lead instead of a side character!) and there are a few too many scenes of characters pining dramatically (like looking out the window at the rain *rolls eyes*). Overall, though, I liked it. 

5. Women Talking - Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh I did not like this and I hate that I have to admit that. I love Sarah Polley so much. I've been a fan of hers since Go! (I was a big fan of that movie, in general, but specifically Sarah's character). Take That Waltz is superb - a film that I often think about. And Stories We Tell is one of my favorite documentaries EVER (I don't really like the genre, but she addresses why I have problems with it - perspective and memories are never absolute truths). I realize nowadays that people find it difficult to criticize things they love (it feels like that, anyway), but that's just not my personality. I can dislike this movie and still adore Polley. I still rooted for her at the Oscars (I mean, it was up against Top Gun: Maverick and Glass Onion for fuck sake - narrowed down the choices considerably). I certainly didn't expect to dislike this (and by dislike, I don't really mean it's bad - it's a 3 star movie but my disappointment is overwhelming), with this cast - Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Rooney Mara is an incredible triple threat (and Foy should have received some awards love for this performance), and the story is gut-wrenching but one that needs to be told. But, my first problem, is, once again, this movie about the rape and abuse of an entire community of women, is produced by Brad Pitt (if you don't understand why this is a problem, I'll explain: He absolutely knew that Weinstein was abusing young actresses, his own wife became a target. There's all these articles about how he "heroically" stood up for her (great!), but then HE CONTINUED TO WORK WITH HIM FOR DECADES. So he only cares about women if they are married to him??? And with Jolie's accusations, I'm not even sure that's true. It's embarrassing that we keep letting him produce films about women's stories). I also just feel like the story is a little repetitive - they all list their reasons for whether to stay or go, and then they...just keep repeating themselves. It's very bland and colorless, too, so my attention just dissipated after about 30 minutes. Foy has, by far, the more interesting role - as the one who is visibly the angriest ("I will become a murderer if I stay"). And I like that they end with this sort of questioning of how we teach our children (the future men of society). I do think that *this* is where change is actually going to happen. And I think that some are viewing this as a "weakening" of masculinity, but there has to be a compromise, surely? We can teach boys to be proud of their strengths as men (men are great! They are generally protectors and providers! Nothing wrong with that!), while also teaching them to not rape and abuse women? How is it that complicated?