Thoughts on 5 Films

1. The Room Next Door - Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore in a Pedro Almodovar film??? How did this stay so under-the-radar?? I barely even heard about it until it popped up on Netflix, but apparently it was released theatrically last year?? Weird. But, I guess, it's not that great so maybe that's why. I mean, I liked it a lot, but compared to his other films it's definitely one of his weaker movies. It's also his first English language film, and maybe that's why it felt a bit off for me? But it's very Almodovar, with the set design, colors, and blocking. And it's really dialogue heavy with some GREAT dialogue on cancer and dying (the "fighting cancer" monologue is really wonderful, and the line "Cancer can't get me, if I get me first"). The story is that this woman has terminal cancer (between this and Dying for Sex, I've watched some seriously depressing cancer stories), so she asks a woman, a friend with whom she's fallen out of touch with, to help her die. They have a lot of discussions about life, motherhood, dying, etc., but nothing really happens. I thought that there would be a mix-up with the medications or that maybe she was setting her up to make it look like she murdered her...or something? It just keeps alluding to something darker happening, but it never does. It's still good, though. And Swinton's death outfit is INCREDIBLE. I, too, would like to die peacefully by a pool in a lime colored suit with matching sandals. Also, I laughed really hard when Swinton's character's daughter shows up and it's played by....Tilda Swinton. Only Tilda can play a mother and her own daughter in the same movie. LOL. 

2. Havoc - This was...fine. It was exactly what I was expecting and sometimes that's not a bad thing. I like this cast, and I liked The Raid, obviously. I think this is Gareth Evans trying to recreate that energy, but that's a lot to live up to. Action-wise, I think it's very sleek and has some great sound design. There are some sequences that are brilliant, like the way the camera follows the guy going though the window and then whips back in with him. Just incredible! And some of the kills are brutal. Tom Hardy is made for roles like this. Ditto for Timothy Olyphant (although I think he's earned star status by now! Why is he still doing supporting roles?). Forrest Whitaker goes a bit too camp, but otherwise I think the supporting cast is fine. But, I think the story is very lacking and a little convoluted. And there's a lot of pieces to it to make is seem like it's way more complicated than it is. It goes in so many directions that it loses its own plot about 1/2 way through. Overall, though, it is an entertaining and well-executed action movie (but it's not even close to The Raid). 

3. Last Breath - The true story to this is fascinating, but it's also, like 30 minutes of a story stretched into a 90 minute movie. I wasn't aware of the story before, and spent a little time researching the real story, so that's always a win. And the movie is exactly what you would expect for a movie about a guy trapped underwater and a group of people trying to rescue him. It was interesting to see all the different options they tried (they were literally going to use an arcade type grabbing arm at one point. LOL), but it gets boring really quickly. And the fact that they actually don't know how he survived is probably the most interesting part and they barely even mention it until the end. HE SURVIVED FOR 30 MINUTES TRAPPED UNDERWATER WITH NO OXYGEN?! HUH??? HOW??? And how have we not figured it out since (it happened 13 years ago! Nobody has figured it out yet? Obviously it has something to do with the pressure underwater - but wouldn't that be a great scientific advancement to survive without oxygen for 30 minutes? Isn't that something we want to know how to do? Especially for deep sea divers and space exploration?). ANYWAY, the cast is a little lacking - I love Woody Harrelson, but he gives nothing in this. And Finn Cole is completely unmemorable. Simu Lui is a very one-note character. It's all very dull. And then it ends with him showing up at home and being like "I almost died", as if his wife wasn't notified about it already? How rude!

4. Azrael - I watched this for my girl, Samara Weaving, but it's...not good. I like some things about it, but overall, it's a dud. I probably would never have watched this if it weren't for Samara - it's just not my type of horror film. But I think she does an incredible job - especially with there being no dialogue (which I didn't know about beforehand - and it's very jarring). You can still feel her exhaustion and desperation in every scene, but it's very hard to follow. I didn't really understand what was going on - I think a group of people are after her to sacrifice her for...some reason? And I think it takes place during the apocalypse, maybe? They really don't give you much information and the movie just starts with her running through the forest. There's really not much else to say? I do like that Samara continues her legacy of being absolutely covered in blood at some point in every movie. I can't wait for Ready or Not: Here I Come - what a cast!! David Cronenberg??! SMG!!! & Elijah Wood?! YES! I'm so ready. 

5. Black Bag - I'm AMAZED at the reviews for this because I think it's one of Soderberg's worst films. I was BORED TO DEATH. First of all, what happened to Soderberg retiring??? Did he change his mind? Actually, I just looked up his filmography and he's directed some truly terrible movies (No Sudden Move, The Informant!, Bubble), so I take back that first sentence. But, I stand by the fact that I was bored. I wasn't expecting to be so bored. Cate Blanchett in a Soderberg movie about spies?? And it's only 94 minutes?? Sounds like a dream! But...nothing happens. There's a so-called mystery that is being explored about who is the traitor in the group with Michael Fassbender trying to figure it out, but it's like they forgot to make us care about the characters first. The supporting cast is less than desirable -aside from Naomie Harris. The rest of them are rough - this is the first thing I'm seeing Marisa Abela in outside of her portrayal of Amy Winehouse, and she's...not good. But the worst is Rege-Jean Page. He just got really lucky with the Bridgerton role (although I also thought he was terrible in that), and he's hot, so he keeps getting cast in stuff. But he's a horrible actor. And then Pierce Brosnan shows up in a really irrelevant role? None of them feel like they are in the same movie. Blanchett and Fassbender are fine (I'm not sure why he dresses like Steve Jobs for a majority of the movie?). The worst part of the whole movie, though, is the lighting. The soft glow filter is so awful that my eyes had trouble focusing on anything. Plus, the ending is plain stupid (it's basically Murder on the Orient Express and none of it is interesting or surprising). And the thing is, I still rated it 3 stars because the movie is fine (except for the lighting), but it's WILD to me that people (that I trust!) have rated this 4-5 stars?! There's nothing here to justify such a high rating.