Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Magic Mike's Last Dance - I like Channing Tatum a lot, but I don't love these movies. I rated the previous Magic Mike movies 2.5 stars - which I think to most people means "bad", but to me it just means that they are very average. And I would rate this one the same. However, I do think, personally, I liked it a bit more than the previous two. A big part of this is because of Salma Hayek. She's still one of the most gorgeous women on the planet, and I love that she's 56 years old and still playing this sexy siren character. Her and Channing have insane chemistry together, and I definitely rooted for them to get together in the end. While there are plenty of sensual dance scenes, the "Suavemente" one stood out to me because it felt the most natural. The rest of the movie felt a little repetitive and boring. There are a few really great dance performances, specifically, the bus scene is fan-fucking-tastic - I wish it were longer, though. And then the final "show" (the point of the whole movie) starts off painful (her wishing for all these different "dreamy" qualities in men **rolls eyes* *barfs*), but then....it ends spectacularly with the balance of this sensual strip tease combined with the ballet performance. I knew we were going to get a dance in the rain (I think it was in the trailer, maybe?), but I was still stunned by it. I think we have to give credit to Usher for that, though...right? Maybe it was done before him, but I will never forget Usher's VMA performance from the early 2000s where he sings his heart out on a rain soaked stage. Anyway, there are a few parts of the movie that are very bad. The narration by the daughter is *awful*; actually I feel like her entire character was pointless and could have been cut altogether. The whole plot of the movie feels overdone and I don't really understand the point of this whole theater performance as a way of revenge to her husband? The whole movie just feels kind of unnecessary, but I like the romance part (which is weird for me, I think). 

2. American Murderer - Wow...this is a terrible movie. I can't even think of anything nice to say about it except that I will always love Ryan Phillippe (even after he does God-awful movies like this). I didn't really know anything about this, but I saw Ryan on the poster and pressed play (as I do with all of his movies). It's actually an interesting story of a con-man that is based on a real life person, but it's just a terribly made movie. The dialogue is insanely bad and it's so Obvious that he's a con-artist that it's impossible to believe that anyone would fall for any of it (but they did in real life, so I just think the writing is bad here. We, as an audience, are supposed to know he's a con, but we should at least understand how others fell for it). The narrative structure is a little confusing and the editing feels very choppy. There is a strong supporting cast here - and I think Ryan would even be considered in a supporting role. They definitely should have focused more on him trying to find this man (how it effected his life, etc.) instead of focusing on the main guy. I refuse to look up his name because he's that bad of an actor and I hope I never hear from him again. He's soap opera bad (and a lot of big actors started on soaps (even Ryan started on one!) but they learn and grow as actors. This guy was not ready to star in a movie). He also looks like he's 55 trying to be 25 and it's embarrassing. But, along with Ryan, the other supporting actors are Jacki Weaver (in a terrible wig), Idina Menzel and Shantal VanSanten. Shantal also starred in that Shooter tv series with Ryan, so I wonder if they are friends? They would make a cute couple. I think she's married, though. 

3. Living - This is a very sweet movie. It's not exactly something I will remember; nor do I think it deserved the accolades it received (Oscar nominated for Actor and Adapted Screenplay, although I am a big fan of Ishiguro), but it's perfectly Okay. The highlight for me, is Aimee Lou Wood - she's from Sex Education. I've never seen her in anything else, but I'm such a big fan of everyone from that cast. Such strong young talent - and I think they are all going to be big stars (Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa are already well on their way). Wood is so adorable in this - very sweet and charming, and definitely brightens the story a bit. I couldn't really figure out what the plot was until they reveal that he (Bill Nighy's character) is dying. I'm not sure if that was mentioned earlier than when I caught on and maybe I missed it because it's a bit boring in the beginning. But, I still don't think there's much of a plot or story. Also, when his funeral happens, I thought "ok, well that, at least, moved very quickly for a 100 minute movie", but there's still 30 minutes left after that (LOL). The characters aren't completely developed, either, so it all feels very blah. Nighy is...fine. I think he plays the same type of character that he always plays, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think that deserves any awards or nominations. 

4. 65 - This movie is...awful. You would think that a movie with DINOSAURS would be thrilling, but there is very little suspense. Or character development. Or plot. As you may already know, I'm not the biggest Adam Driver fan, but I've said nice things about him in a few projects (Star Wars, The Dead Don't Die). I just don't understand how he got SO big SO quickly (and I'm baffled as to how he's already been nominated for TWO Oscars, plus multiple Emmy nominations. He even has a Tony nomination! At this rate, he's going to EGOT and I'm going to want to slam my fists into the wall just like the Marriage Story meme). I think his performance in films like this, really prove my point because as bad as this is, if he was an actually strong actor, he could still shine and make this movie watchable for the acting alone. And I will use Taron as an example for this, because I'm still bitter that Driver was nominated the year that Taron should have been. Because Taron has done some bad movies, for sure, like Robin Hood, but he actually gives a great performance as the lead role - perfectly charming and captivating. He still gave it 100%. Meanwhile, it feels like Driver is literally asleep through 75% of this movie and then he wakes up when a dinosaur appears. I have two nice things to say about this movie. First, the girl who plays his daughter (again, I'm lazy and I don't feel like looking it up, but I will eventually) is a really, really strong actress - and has been in SO MANY big projects, but only in very small roles (Dungeons and Dragons, Marry Me, Gunpowder Milkshake). She deserves a starring role in something STAT. And two, there is one shot that is *on point* - the lightening shot with the dinosaur appearing is SO GOOD (so good that it's on the poster). I wish more of the movie captured my attention like that, but overall I was bored by about 15 minutes in and I never recovered. 

5. Emily - I wanted this to be a bit better than it was. I just think that there has been some really great projects with the same sort of story recently (like Dickinson, Gerwig's Little Women adaptation, and Emma. spring to mind instantly - all much better than this movie). Also, I really, really like Emma Mackey and I can't wait for her to be a HUGE star on the same level as Margot Robbie (who she is constantly compared to, but I don't really see the similarity? They have very different faces and angles). And I thought that Joe Alwyn was in this, because he comes up when you google the cast, but apparently he dropped out of this project and the guy from The Haunting of Hill House took his place. I do like that guy (I don't know his name, but I shall look it up after I'm done writing this), but he's no Joe Alwyn. Fionn Whitehead was so awful in Voyagers so I was weary of him, but he's matured a lot in a very short timespan. But the cast just doesn't wow me like they should - it's all a bit dull and the chemistry is off. There are some stunning shots, but it all feels a little bit like a Terrence Malick parody with them twirling in the grass or running in the rain. As for the story, I don't know much about Emily Bronte, and guess what? After watching this, I still don't feel like I know very much about her because they focus on a non-existent love story - and theorize that this loss of this love and betrayal by her brother was the catalyst for her to write one of the greatest novels of all time (Wuthering Heights). Usually I appreciate a bit of fictionized history, but it feels a little offensive in this case to create these circumstances that revolve around men, when she was such a strong-willed woman who seemed to have little interest in men. It's just an odd focus for this biopic. Anyway, I do think there is a really strong use of sound in this film - from the background waves and birds chirping, to the heavy, rhythmic breathing, to the use of silence - it's all very breathtaking.