Thoughts on 5 Films

1. I Wanna Dance with Somebody - Ugh, this is a very forgettable biopic about one unforgettable star. Whitney Houston is definitely one of the best vocal artists of all-time, and she served hit after hit in the 80s & 90s. If there is one song that will automatically get me on the dance floor at a wedding, it's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (and I sing it very loudly in my car on my way to work). She also gave, hands down, the best and most iconic performance of the national anthem ever. It's sad that her life turned into a joke and instead of getting the help she desperately needed, her audience turned on her and she became a tabloid fixation (this is obviously a common thing - I feel like Britney has gone down the same path). Her "crack is wack" interview is one of those seminal moments in pop history that I vividly remember everyone talking about. I think this film got bogged down with all of these weird moments in her history instead of focusing on her story. It desperately needed a focal point. Also, I feel bad for Naomi Ackie, because this was just a poor casting choice to begin with. It was setting her up to fail - so I'm not going to blame her. She just looks nothing like Whitney, nor does she embody her spirit at all. And, my God, the actor they got to play Bobby Brown, just embarrassing levels of bad acting. I'm never really a fan of biopics that are so straight-forward like this, nor do I really find the whole recreating performances that interesting. I will say one positive thing - I love that they embraced her sexuality. I actually never realized that her relationship with her best fried was ever confirmed. I thought it remained a rumor until her death. That is a huge part of her story, and a strong indication as to why she was so depressed and fell into addiction. Some other thoughts: Is Clive Davis like the ONLY good music producer? By good, I mean like a decent human being? I feel like this sort of character is always represented as the height of greed and toxicity, but I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about Davis? Also, I laughed real hard when she picks The Bodyguard script back up when he says "Kevin Costner". 

2. Plane - As far as big dumb action movies go, I think this is successful. It is exactly what I was expecting it to be, and it was exactly what I was in the mood to watch, so I was highly entertained. I also just really love Gerard Butler. I don't think he gets enough credit as a really reliable action star. He always puts full effort into these roles, but it never feels overdone. And he gets to keep his super sexy Scottish accent in this!!! It's a win for everyone, really. I also really like Mike Colter (I recently started watching Evil. It's okay, but the cast excels it). It's obviously a little unrealistic that crash landing a plane is not the worst part of ones day, but still, the story is interesting and rightfully intense. I was also a little annoyed at the passengers constant complaining - I mean, I would be a LOT nicer to a pilot who just landed a plane that was struck by lightning. And, I would try to help? It's weird that they just rely on him as the leader, as if any of it is his fault or responsibility. I kind of made me want all of the entitled, whiny passengers to die, and I doubt that was the intent. I also think that they do a really good job of creating this suspicion around Colter's character until the very end - it kept me invested in the plot instead of relying on constant action sequences and fight scenes. 

3. Bones and All - Hmmmm....maybe I'm just not a fan of Luca Guadagnino? I'm pretty indifferent on everything I've seen of his (this, Call Me By Your Name, the Suspiria remake), and for some reason, I expected to be blown away by each. A big part of why I'm not blown away by this is Timothee Chalamet (Chamalet? I still refuse to look up which one is correct). I just don't really understand his appeal. He's so skinny and frail looking - and he can't act??? And I don't believe for second that his character listens to KISS or that he didn't buy those jeans pre-ripped. Just nothing about his character seems genuine, at all - and I fully blame his whole persona on that. BUT, I LOVE Taylor Russell. She was in that Netflix Lost in Space reboot and she was my favorite character on that show, and she was in one of my favorite movies of 2019 (Waves. Highly recommended if you haven't seen it). She is stunning in this. I didn't realize that it was, like, actually about cannibalism. I find it highly entertaining that Luca's last film starred Armie Hammer (and also Timmy), and then he decided to make a film about cannibalism?? There has to be a story there, right? Anyway, I think it can obviously be interpreted in different ways, but I think it's an allegory for people with mental illness trying to make their way in the world, seeking love and compassion from another human. I also think it's trying to "mystify" cannibalism into the same realm as vampires, werewolves, etc, which is sort of interesting. I really like how it starts out - the way that being poor is depicted, her heartbreak when realizing that the one person who vowed to take care of her has abandoned her - it's all really effective. But I think it lost me the moment that Mark Rylance shows up. The entire section of the film is really, really boring and I didn't really see it as being important to the story (it is). Then Timothee shows up, and it remains really boring until the ending, which I also really liked (when she says something like "Let's just be people", it's really sweet). I also wasn't expecting it to be so gruesome. I actually had to look away from the screen a few times, and I don't get grossed out very easily. 

4. A Man Called Otto - Just a lovely little movie. I wasn't expecting to get as emotional as I did, but Hanks gives an incredibly effective performance, and the story just hits all the right notes. It's a remake of Swedish movie called A Man Called Ove (which was adapted from a novel of the same name), but I have not seen it nor have I read it, so again, I had no expectations of what it was. I'm surprised Hanks wasn't talked about more for this during Oscar season? He definitely should have been in the conversation (and it's weird that he also gave one of the worst performances of last year with Elvis). It's about this seemingly grumpy man who is a stickler for the rules, but once we see behind the curtains, we realize how depressed he is. In sort of an odd way, it's similar to Bones and All, because it's about having compassion for people, even ones who seem like assholes. Sometimes we get those people at my place of work, and I just love to kill them with kindness, because I feel like they must live very miserable lives. In this case, we learn that the love of his life has died, and he's so miserable without her that he plans to kill himself, but each time he tries, he is interrupted by something that gives him an excuse to live for a little longer. And then this lovely family moves in across the street and they decide to become a part of his life, whether he likes it or not. I do think there are a lot of cynics that will see this story as this woman did this on purpose because she saw that he had no-one else (*major spoiler* he leaves everything to her when he dies), but I see it as a bit of karma for her being a good person. There is this weird moment in the film, when I questioned how his wife died, and thought that maybe she died by suicide, which would have been somehow more depressing - given how loved she was. I just fell in love with their love story - the way that he doesn't order an entrée on their first date so that he can afford to pay for her to order what she wants. I literally almost cried. And then it shows how he adjusted their whole house so that she could navigate everything in her wheelchair. Ugh... it just really hit me right in the heart. Anyway, there is just no way that she would have wanted him to be so miserable without her, and it's heartwarming to watch him come to that conclusion. ALSO, PSA: please don't kill yourself by jumping in front of a train. Or really anywhere where there are innocent people trying to go about their day - you will traumatize complete strangers for the rest of their lives (a few years ago, I had someone stop their car on the train tracks in front of me, and it took me a minute to realize what he was doing, it was one of the worst moments of my life. Me and another bystander got out of cars and started screaming at him to not do it. The other bystander looked at me, pleading, and said..."I can't go, I have kids" meaning that I should go and try to pull him out of the car before the fucking train hits. Luckily, he sped away, and then the train came separating us. We called the police, but neither of us thought to get his license plate - we were just in too much of a panic to think straight. They did say that they might still be able to find him with cameras around the area, so I hope that's true and I hope he got some help. But, he also traumatized me, a complete stranger, for life). 

5. Air - It's a 3 star movie, but definitely on the higher end of the 3 star movie spectrum. There's a lot to like about it. First, Matt Damon is always good. Him and Affleck, in a movie together, is just magical. It moves pretty quickly for an almost 2 hour drama. It's also just a really strong story - and the history behind it is interesting and relevant, especially with the ongoing writer's strike. It's the perfect story for Ben to tell, too, because him and Damon have been doing some interesting things within the film community to spread profit (look it up! They are actively trying to change things from within). It's fascinating how much a celebrity endorsement can make or break a brand (I would love to say that I can't be swayed like that, but I just spent a ridiculous amount of money on sunglasses because Taron Egerton wears them and swears by them. And I do love them and now I want 30 more pairs in every color). I don't really know much about Michael Jordan, other than him being the greatest basketball player of all-time, so I think I would have appreciated more of his story (although that would be a different movie). I just think it's a little weird that he's not actually in the movie, at all. The actor playing him is seen from the back or side profile and he has like 2 lines off-camera. I also think that Affleck had a field day picking out the music for this. Is there such a thing as too many needle drops?? Because this is way too many. Also, the beginning montage? WE GET IT, IT'S THE 80s!! How stupid do you think your audience is, Ben? Also, why does he insist on being in movies in which he wears weird wigs and facial hair? It never looks natural on him. My only other gripe is the unnecessary and awkwardly placed circular tracking shots - he did this in Live By Night, too. It's weird because I feel like he's almost regressing as a filmmaker, but I still love him. I realize that everything I just said here is mostly negative, but I did like it - it's just not something I'll really remember, and there really isn't that much to talk about.