Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Cat Person - I like this movie - there's a lot of good ideas within it, and I like Emilia Jones (she's the girl from CODA). But, it should have been 90 minutes, the ending goes WAY over the top, and I'm not really a fan of Nicholas Braun in this role. I'll focus on the good first, though. The specific ideas that I like about this movie is that I think it does a good job of reacting to the cultural shift in dating. It's always been a scary thing for young women, but I think with social media and our huge focus on true crime (between podcasts, films, docuseries, etc. - it's overwhelming), young women have become way more paranoid than they actually need to be and are having trouble forming healthy relationships. While this girl does do some pretty stupid things in the film (as most 22 year old girls do), she also thinks every little thing this man does is some sort of warning sign ("red flag") and convinces herself that he's basically a serial killer. The film starts with the quote "Men are scared women will laugh at them. Women are scared men will kill them.", which apparently is a Margaret Atwood quote??? I've heard it so many times, but never knew where it came from. It's interesting that it's an Atwood quote, though, because I think some of her stories (like The Handmaid's Tale) have caused some of this paranoia as well. *some spoilers ahead* I also think they do a good job of keeping him sort of creepy, but certainly not a serial killer. Most of his "red flags" turn into completely normal behavior (of a pathetic, insecure, loser) once explained. The way it's all executed is done really well, I think. I also like most of the cast - Jones is great. The girl from Miracle Workers is a hoot. And ISABELLA ROSSELLINI! I will never forget seeing her with that huge beaded necklace with her side boob showing in Death Becomes Her - just about the hottest an actress has ever looked (only second to Salma Hayek in From Dusk Till Dawn, I think). There's also an extremely awkward sex scene that is so real if you've ever been a woman who realizes too late that you don't really want to have sex with the guy, but feel bad to stop, so you just go with it (we've all been there). But unfortunately, there's a lot of bad stuff mixed in - first, it's hard to get past the casting of Braun. There's similar allegations against him that there are against Ansel Egort, and yet, he continues to have a successful and popular career, which is baffling. And the allegations are about him and teenagers, so I cringed when he has sex with this girl and then asks her how old she is. I don't feel like it's supposed to be meta, but unfortunately it is and not in a good way. And as I stated above - this girl does and says some of the dumbest things I've ever seen and heard, so she kind of deserves this wake up call, before someone actually does murder her. She's scared she's being stalked so she decides to walk home in the dark WITH HEADPHONES ON???? Plus, I would immediately demand to be introduced to his cats as soon as I walked in the door. She's also just a dumb-dumb (she doesn't know what ACE means? A 22 year old? She also calls her hometown the "suburbs" as if her school town isn't in the suburbs too? Her school is literally in the suburbs of NYC. Does she not know what the word means?). And why wouldn't she just plainly state that she doesn't want to go to her place of work as a date? That's a completely understandable ask. She's just, like, braindead and it makes me really hate her. And that isn't the intent. Also, on a sidenote, where was the script supervisor when they talk about Krogers (the grocery store), which doesn't exist in NJ? She goes to school at FDU in Teaneck (I lived in the next town over for 2 years when I first moved to NJ). And lastly, the ending is WILD. It's just such a shame because there is a good movie in here, with some decent editing, and a script supervisor who actually did their job (maybe point out all the stupid things she does, too?). 

2. The Last Voyage of the Demeter - Soooo boring I thought I was going to die (or fall asleep, if you want me to be less of a drama queen). I like some things about it - as a Dracula origin story, the horror vibe is very strong; it's just never as scary as it should be. I also like the cast - the little boy, in particular is fantastic. Corey Hawkins was bland in the 24 reboot, but I've liked him in everything else (Straight Outta Compton, and some smaller films). He's really good in this - and he does a fantastic British accent, I think (I don't think I would have known he wasn't British if I didn't already know it. That's how I judge accents!). It's just SO SLOW and nothing really happens for long periods of time, you know already how it's all going to play out, and I don't feel like they play up the suspense of it all enough. It's also mostly filmed at night, so it's really hard to see...anything. I just could not get into it at all, and that's surprising because I love vampire stories! 

3. The Color Purple (2023) - I really liked this quite a bit. And I've thought about it a lot since I watched it a few weeks ago. Mostly because of the production quality of the musical numbers and for Danielle Brooks' phenomenal performance - how she isn't the frontrunner for Supporting Actress this year, is INSANE (especially when the lock is a performance that consists of a BAD Boston accent - I love Da'Vine, but this performance is not my favorite). Brooks was one of my favorites on Orange is the New Black, as Taystee - and that's saying a lot because that entire cast all shined at some point during its run. But Brooks made me cry during a very specific series of events on that show, that I will remember forever. And she almost made me cry in this too! I didn't realize she could sing, but the "Hell No!" performance is stunning, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I watched this. I also didn't realize that she was in the Broadway show, too. If she ever reprises the role, I AM THERE. I think the rest of the supporting cast are really strong too (Taraji, Halle Bailey, Colman Domingo, and Corey Hawkins!!! Two movies in a row!), but unfortunately, I don't think I like Fantasia? I've never seen an episode of American Idol, so I don't really know much about her, but I really don't like her voice and I think her acting is the weakest link of the whole movie. She also looked like she was playing dress up for the whole movie - like she never fell naturally into this role. I also think the film feels a little too stagey, and the emotional beats aren't executed as well as they should be (aside from Brooks who has several emotional moments that ALL hit). I do wish the musical numbers were actually longer because they are spectacular, but they are edited down too much. It's weird because I've never seen the 90s film (it's on my list!), but I've read Alice Walker's novel when I was in middle school, and I never imagined it as a musical. I didn't realize that this was the Broadway version as a movie (which seems to be a popular idea nowadays), so the musical numbers took me by surprise, but a welcomed one. 

4. Thanksgiving - This is actually a really fun slasher flick. It's a really good premise that focuses on America's obsession with Black Friday shopping (which isn't actually that bad anymore - it was becoming wild, but then the pandemic hit and I haven't experienced a crazy Black Friday since. Most people shop online for deals now. I don't think it will ever get to that point of stampedes and such that are featured in this movie), plus the kills are FUCKING GORY AS FUCK AND I LOVE IT. It sort of reminds me of I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is a movie that I absolutely loved as a teenager in the 90s (and I was obsessed with Ryan Phillippe and I still am a little bit), but I also feel like it might not have aged very well so I'm scared to watch it again and realize that it's terrible. I think it's funny that when Patrick Dempsey starts to talk I literally rolled by eyes and said "not Dempsey attempting a Boston accent" only to learn that that is his natural accent. LOL. I just feel like sometimes actual Bostonian actors lean into the accent a little too much and the only ones that getaway with it are Ben and Matt. Ohhh and Marky Mark, too. I also knew pretty much *instantly* who the killer is. But that doesn't really matter because it's more about the kills and the vibes, and I had a great time with it. 

5. All of Us Strangers - I liked this a lot, but it definitely was far different than what I was expecting. I did go into this with the expectations that Paul Mescal might be in my favorite movie two years in a row (Aftersun is one of the best films of the last decade). It's a very beautiful film, and there are some really stunning shots. It's also something that I've sat with and thought about and reassessed a few times, which I always love (as opposed to forgetting about it instantly and racking my brain trying to muster up a paragraph of thoughts). But, the reason that it's not what I was expecting is because it's quite literally a ghost story, when I was expecting something more tangible. I also feel like the ending is very obvious (we've all seen The Sixth Sense....right???), so it didn't really hit me as hard as it probably hit others (I saw a lot of people saying the ending "broke" them and they even cried?!). But I do really, really love how this movie presents loneliness - we don't see much of the main character outside of his apartment or visiting his parents (who are dead - I don't think this is much a of a spoiler because it's obvious as soon as the audience meets them as they are the same age, so he's visiting them as he remembers them), but we get the sense that he's very introverted and obviously has suffered a lot of trauma. He's also a screenwriter, and that's an isolating profession in and of itself. It becomes a story of identity and saying the things he never had the chance to say - there is a really beautiful coming out scene that I will think about for a long time. Claire Foy is STUNNING in this scene, but also the dialogue is just *perfect* ("If I'm lonely, it's not because I'm gay"). There is a focus on a "stranger" coming into his life, but I think the bigger focus is on how he is a stranger to himself, as we all are just trying to figure shit out. It's a constant process, and I think there is this overwhelming need that some people have to feel like they are known and understood (I don't have that need. I could care less if anyone knows who I am. Especially my mom?? She definitely doesn't know me very well and I don't care). I love the eeriness of the film, some stand-out scenes (the lighting in the club kissing scene is spectacular and the last shot of them on the bed with the camera above them?!! A masterpiece!). The acting is wonderful - Foy is probably my highlight (she definitely should have been in more awards conversations - she's consistently the highlight of great movies, First Man comes to mind instantly). I'm not the biggest Andrew Scott fan (and I do think I might have liked the movie more if Mescal and Scott switched roles??), but I can see why a lot of people were upset by his Oscar snub. It's just a far quieter performance that what was nominated this year, but I would definitely put this performance over Cooper, Giamatti and Domingo (I haven't seen American Fiction yet - might watch it tonight!). On a somewhat related note - this might be my favorite movie poster of the year! I can stare at it for hours. This is definitely up there among my favorite films of 2023 (it will probably land in the 3rd or 4th spot), and I imagine that it will stick with me for quite a while.