Thoughts on 5 Films

1. The Fabelmans - Unfathomably dull movie, Holy Shit. I'm stunned at how many 5 star reviews there are for this on Letterboxd. It just doesn't make any sense? Spielberg fanboys, sure, but what about everyone else? Like people with eyes and a brain? If anything, this movie makes me like Spielberg a little less. To be clear - I love Spielberg. And he's made some of my favorite movies of all time. I just haven't loved any of his movies in...uh...18 YEARS!? Is that right!? Wow. I did like Ready Player One, but ultimately it's a forgettable movie. But the reason I like him a little less is because this is supposed to be semi-autobiographical and he oddly represents himself as a spoiled, entitled, brat. Sorry, but I'm just never going to sympathize with a white wealthy male who thinks his story is interesting enough to make an entire movie about just because his parents divorced. If that's the worst thing that has happened to you, then your life is not a tragedy that you've had to overcome. There is zero adversity here. Now, watching this future genius filmmaker's beginnings is actually interesting - and if he showed his childhood in a more positive light (that it is), then I probably wouldn't like him less. One could debate me here (easily) by mentioning his mom who is a bit eccentric (and perhaps suffering from some sort of undiagnosed bipolar issue?), but he shows her in a mostly lovingly way - supportive of his passions, showed interest in his life, etc. and he doesn't seem to reciprocate the love at all - he's very selfish, especially when her mother dies and she becomes severely depressed and he gets upset that he can't make his movie? Fuck that, you spoiled fucking brat. So, no, I still don't think that's worthy of sympathy. Or one could mention the bullying he suffered in school due to being Jewish, but honestly those bullies were going to bully him anyway. They just found "the thing" to pick on him for, and went with it. Anyway, as far as the movie goes - as I said, it's very dull. I had to turn it off because I found myself falling asleep. I watched the rest of it the following day, but it felt about 5 hours too long. I also think it's INSANE that Michelle Williams got a Best Actress nomination for this. First, she is most DEFINITELY in a supporting role here and second, she feels like a cartoon character. Obviously, this was the intent, and maybe his mother was really like that, but it didn't feel like it was based in any sort of reality at all. I can't believe people were mad at Andrea Riseborough's nomination, when this nomination is so much more offensive. I don't even think the movie is particularly well made, either. There are very weird scene transitions, the pace is wacky, and there are very few shots of note. There are two nice things that I can say: 1. I really like the scene in which he finds out about his mother's affair - the circular tracking shot of him rewinding the film, with that piano music in the background is spectacular. 2. David Lynch as John Ford = perfection. 

2. To Leslie - Ahhh finally I can comment on the Andrea Riseborough Oscar nomination situation. First, as I said above, she's not the worst nomination in that category. But, sadly, no, I don't think this should have earned her a nomination. She's a strong actress, and I've been a long time fan. I'm sure she will deserve a nomination soon enough, but there were stronger performances of 2022 (Rebecca Hall, Mia Goth, Margot Robbie, Thuso Mbedo - still not sure if she was lead or supporting, but if Michelle Williams was a lead performance then Mbedo definitely was too). I also think that the film itself is lacking - it's a little too sappy, definitely not gritty or ugly enough for the story that it is attempting. The story is about this poor single mom who wins the lottery, but squanders all of the money on booze - abandoning her son in the process. My first reaction to the lottery part was "190k isn't even that much money", which it definitely isn't in New Jersey, but in Texas - assuming the average cost of living is maybe 40k per year (I'm totally guessing), that's only like 5 years of living just with basic expenses. Not exactly life-changing money. So I kind of knew instantly that she was going to blow it all very quickly. I think the story would have had a stronger impact if the audience witnessed her self-destruction, instead we are introduced to this woman during the after-math, with her trying and failing to seek redemption and forgiveness from her son. Instead, she gains an empathetic ear from a stranger, who attempts to help her by giving her a job and a place to stay. I really appreciate people (and characters) who have soft hearts and try to help people without judgement. He also helps her get sober, although I think he's in a little over his head. Quitting a regular drinking habit is super dangerous - it's why my husband was allowed to keep his stores open during Covid (background: he owns two liquor stores and in the state of NJ liquor is only allowed to be sold at licensed stores, so not grocery stores like most places). The state officials were scared that if they forced the liquor stores to close then the hospitals would be even more flooded with people going into alcohol withdrawal. I do try to have empathy for alcoholics and addicts, even though it's not something I've ever really understood (I have a very "everything in moderation" mentality, and it really baffles me that people don't have the capacity to control themselves this way). Anyway, the story moves very slowly, but Riseborough does keep it interesting and grounded. I also think her Texan accent is on point. The ending is really strong and emotional too, but again, really sappy. It's just not something that will stay with me. 

3. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania - Only slightly better than Ant-Man and The Wasp. But, let's talk about the most important part first: Evangeline Lilly's hair. Her haircut in the first one was so awful, but in the God-awful second one it was normal and cute! What the fuck happened here? She looks like Tinkerbell - and I like pixie cuts on a lot of women, but she does not have the face shape for it and she's also extremely petite and this just accentuates that. It's actually hard to look at in some scenes. I know there are more important things to discuss in regards to Lilly, but I'm kind of impartial on all of that (she's an anti-vaxxer, which I do find horrifying - so many diseases have been eradicated because of vaccines!!! But she seemed to really only vocalize an opposition to the mandates for the Covid vaccine, not the actual vaccine. And I do think it's a little crazy that there were mandates for a vaccine that...uh...doesn't seem to work? And they hid side-effects for months? We're all allowed to have opinions on that, and vocalize them. Everyone's allowed to ask questions. That's how things get better! I feel like we're getting stuck in this very black and white way of thinking - and life is very, very grey). But the other weird thing, in regards to Lilly, is that she's still a side character in this, yet her character name is still in the title?? WHY? Does anybody care about The Wasp? Please raise your hand because as far as I know, nobody does. It made sense for the second one because it was about her becoming The Wasp. ANNNYYYWAY, as for the rest of the movie, it basically sucks. I think the only good thing is Michelle Pfeiffer - and SHE has spectacular hair. She looks like a fucking goddess with that grey hair (like, if I could get my grey hair to look like that, I would definitely stop dying it!). I wanted to like Kathryn Newton as Cassie (and the recast makes sense because Newton is a "bigger" up-and-coming young actress), but I felt like her acting was a little cheesy - like she needed to take it all down a few notches. The biggest mistake, though, is NO MICHAEL PENA! An Ant-Man movie without him, just feels so wrong. Also, I watched this movie quite a while ago (I'm behind on my posts again!) - maybe a month ago - and I couldn't tell you what the point of it all was? Kang was in the quantum realm and they defeated him (but they didn't? right? because he's in more?). But that's all I got from it. The effects are mind-boggling. I felt like I needed to be high for them to look decent, but for an unaltered brain, it looks absolutely terrible. Just an overall mess, but a slightly better mess than the second one. 

4. Missing - I like this movie a lot. I *think* I may even like it more than its spiritual predecessor Searching, which I also really liked. The reason for this, though, is simply because I think "the twist" is slightly more realistic here than the one in Searching. They are both really, really intense movies, with simple but twisty plots, feature great acting, and an interesting use of technology to tell a story. Before I get into spoilery territory, I just want to say that I love Nia Long and she should be in way more stuff (like, she should have the career that Regina Hall has). Also, I like Storm Reid a lot (I knew I recognized her from a few things, A Wrinkle in Time, etc., but completely forgot that she's Zendaya's little sis on Euphoria!). It's very smartly made, does a great job of misdirecting the audience without becoming frustrating, and has a chilling end. Okay...*major spoilers ahead* I think with these types of movies, it's become the norm for the audience to assume it's the husband/boyfriend/partner - because it always is. So, as expected, I spent the majority of the movie going "duh, it's the boyfriend" even when the plot was telling me otherwise. I'm not sure when I realized the "twist", but it was a little bit before June (Reid) does. I started thinking about why her mom would lie to her and hide her past, and the most likely reason for that is because of a crime, but there would be a record of that unless she was on the receiving end and in protective custody. And the most common reason a woman with a child is placed in Witness Protection is because of domestic abuse - and the light when on in my brain "oooooh it IS the husband/boyfriend/partner - just no the one that's in front of us. What a great way to still have that obvious plot point be suspenseful and shocking. I think the only part that I didn't really understand was how it was easier for her to hack into her mom's boyfriends stuff over her mom's? Couldn't she have done the same thing but into her mom's account? And also, it was very obvious that her mom's password was JuneBUG and not just June (my mom's name is June and everyone calls her Junebug. It's so weird). 

5. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - This movie definitely caught me by surprise. I didn't really think I would get it at all - like the Pokémon movie, because I never played it. But it's very accessible to a general audience, and just overall a good time. And it's official: Chris Pine is the best Chris (although Chris Hemsworth is unexpectedly pulling up in second, for me). I wasn't really much of a fan of him earlier in his career, and I didn't like him at all in the Star Trek movies (although I think he played that character how he was supposed to, I just don't like the character). He's just got a really cool, chill attitude about showbiz and seems to not take himself very seriously. The rest of the cast work really well together - even Justice Smith is great in this role and I don't think I've liked him in anything else I've seen him in. I've always been a fan of Michelle Rodriguez and this is a perfect role for her (and LOL at the spectacular cameo for the actor playing her ex). Hugh Grant plays it up as the villain just...perfectly. I think the weak link is the guy from Bridgerton (I'm hopeful that he goes away soon - he got so much attention for Bridgerton which caused him getting all these roles, but everyone has to realize that he can't act. Right? RIGHT????). But, overall, I laughed a lot, it moves very quickly, and has great effects. I will happily watch multiple sequels.