Thoughts on 5 Films

1. The Last Showgirl - So first things first - I'm a big fan of Pamela Anderson. I know that might seem out of character for me, but I also LOVE Paris Hilton, so I'm an enigma. I used to go to Venice Beach & Santa Monica a lot when I was a kid and they used to film scenes for Baywatch early in the morning. Pam Anderson was ALWAYS the sweetest to the crowds of people - fans, kids, and the general crowds. She would always wave hello and sign autographs, but more importantly - she was ALWAYS smiling. I always thought of her as a ray of sunshine. One of those people who would make your day better just by existing. I'm so happy she's back in the spotlight and I hope she gets a ton more jobs after this. The weirder thing is that I've actually met TWO of the cast members of this film with Anderson, and also Kiernan Shipka (I met her before Mad Men - she was like 9 years old and she was a very sweet little girl). Second of all, I also LOVE Las Vegas. I practically grew up there - I used to visit my great-aunt who lived there, every year growing up, and then my grandmother moved there during the last few years of her life. I also love playing poker. The vibe in Vegas is just fun and carefree, and I always have a blast. I haven't been in about 10 years, but I will hopefully rectify that soon. My great-aunt did take me to a typical showgirls performance when I was 15/16 and I thought it was incredible. So now that I've gotten all the personal stuff out of the way - as far as the film goes, it's...fine. I would even hesitantly call it good. But I expected better based on reviews and raves for Anderson's performance. It definitely feels like a Sean Baker knock-off (and I expect a lot of those now with his Anora success). I was surprised that it's a Coppola family member that directed this (Gia Coppola), but after analyzing it, I do see some similarities to Sofia Coppola's aesthetic (and I don't usually like her films). There are some GORGEOUS shots of Las Vegas. I also really love the scene in which Anderson dances to "Shadows of the Night" - her body is banging for a 57 year old, but Jason Schwartzman's character shuts her down quickly ("you were hired because you were beautiful and sexy and young" is something a lot of female performers hear once they hit 35 and are seeking their next gig). But I don't think the film is saying anything we don't already know, and I don't think Anderson does anything special with this role. And I honestly feel personally victimized by Jamie Lee Curtis' performance in this. That Oscar went straight to her head and she has become more and more insufferable with every performance since (see: The Bear - it's painfully overacted and forced). The scene with her dancing to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is one of the worst film scenes of 2024. I wish I could burn it from my memory. 

2. I'm Still Here - I loved this for one very specific reason - it will stick with me. It's an extremely historically relevant story about how the government (or people in power) can just *disappear* someone. I'm so glad it won the Best International Feature over Emilia Perez (I didn't hate it as much as others, but it's not an award-worthy film by any means). And I don't know, maybe Fernanda Torres should have won too?? It's a tough call between her, Madison, and Moore (I think I personally would have voted for Moore? Maybe?). I don't think Gascon or Erivo should have been in the conversation at all. Anyway, I didn't realize that her mom was in this too - I saw all the articles about her mom (Fernanda Montenegro) winning awards for Central Station (also directed by the same director, Walter Salles), but I didn't realize that she plays the older version of this character. They look *so much* alike that if you told me it was prosthetics, I would believe you. I don't think I've actually seen Central Station? I've added to my list, but I did love Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries very much. I think the success in this is with how well the characters are developed before things go south - the audience falls in love with this family and the love they have for each other. I love the scene with them watching their daughter enjoy London. The children are all given distinct personalities (and are all strong actors). And then *suddenly* their whole world changes. It's horrifying. I didn't realize it was based on a true story until it was over (obvi, I knew things like this happened, I just thought it was a fictional account). It's insane to me that this is happening in our country (the u.s.) in the present day and nobody is doing anything about it? Anyway, I love how this whole story unfolds, and how this woman changes her whole life to find out what happened to her husband. It's very inspiring. It's close to a perfect film, but I think the end really drags it down. All of the "memory" scenes are so unnecessary and bloat the film. I probably would have cut most of the end with the two youngest kids as adults. But that's just me. 

3. Mountainhead - Who thought that this movie now was a good idea? It's the most tone-deaf film I've seen in a long time. It's feeding off of the popularity of Succession (from the creator of the series), but it's missing a significant key piece - the dynamics and complexity of a family. That was the part that people could relate to not the fact that they were billionaires. This film is about a bunch of one-percenters frenemies who get together to discuss how rich they are and they are all gigantic assholes. Yes, even the one who is supposed to be the "good" one. I liked Succession just fine, but I don't agree with a lot of people who place it among the best shows of all time. I don't even think it would make my top 100 shows, if I thought about it. But I think they always did a good job of dumbing down a lot of the business jargon so that a wide audience understood what was happening and what was at stake. But I don't understand what the fuck is happening for most of this film. It's like they are speaking another language - and then ****spoiler ahead**** suddenly they are trying to kill their "friend" (the "good" one). It's so hard to follow, but I think the bigger problem is that these guys are fucking losers who think they are funny, but they're not - so why would an audience want to watch almost 2 hours of these unfunny, pathetic, manbabies cry and/or brag about their money??? It's not entertaining at all. The acting is the saving grace (it's a one star film but the acting bumps it to two). I love Steve Carell. And Ramy Youssef (NJ represent!!!). Jason Schwartzman is good in small doses. But I was really interested in Cory Michael Smith because he was so good in the SNL movie, and he's really good in this too. This will likely be on my 2025 Worst List, though. 

4. Hard Truths - While I agree that Marianne Jean Baptiste is wonderful, this movie is a little...meh. I felt like it was trying to say something really important about grief and loss, but it never really gets there. Instead, we are forced to empathize with a woman who is cruel to everyone around her because her mother died. But - this is going to make me seem like an unkind bitch - people die. And when you're in your 50s you should start to expect the older people around you (like your parents) to die. It doesn't give you a pass to be rude to retail workers, strangers, and your own child. As someone who has worked in retail for over 20 years, I already know that people who treat others like this are miserable and suffering in some way, and that's why I never take their behavior personally. But it doesn't make it right. And it's certainly not interesting enough to make a film about. It's like that movie A Man Called Otto, but in that, he learns to care about people and not treat people like shit. And I don't feel like that lesson is learned here. She's just a miserable person until the end. I don't want to watch her for 90 minutes. I get it. She's grieving. She's still insufferable. But, aside from that, the acting is great and I appreciate the story of grief and how it consumes people. I think it's *weird* that this is written & directed by a privileged white guy since it's a story of a black family - centered around this black woman. It seems like he took great detail in getting the dialogue, cultural norms, etc., right, but then I also read that the cast helped develop the characters and dialogue to make them feel authentic but did not receive any writing or creative credits, so that's kind of fucked up? I think Mike Leigh is a great director, and I love how personal and intimate his films feel, but sometimes you should stick to what you know or at least give credit where its due. 

5. Fountain of Youth - *spoilers* I saw this described as similar to the National Treasure films and I don't like those movies (eeek....I KNOW!), so I didn't have the highest hopes for this. But I will ALWAYS watch a Guy Ritchie project because he's always a fun director. It's certainly not the worst movie I've seen this year, but it's super average. Actually, slightly below average because I think the casting is a bit off. I usually LOVE Natalie Portman but she was terrible in this because the role is so underwritten, but also because she's just not right for this part. Her sibling chemistry with John Krasinski is so forced because the dialogue keeps telling us They Are Siblings!! And it's About The Journey!!! These two plot points are literally repeated over-and-over-and-over again, it's almost mind-numbing. I also just don't think Krasinski is strong enough to lead a movie like this? I love him, and he's super-duper charming, but he falls flat in this. I like the supporting cast - the guy from The Boys is barely recognizable with that weight loss, but I like his energy in this. And I'm a big fan of Eiza Gonzalez. I originally noticed her in the From Dusk till Dawn tv show, so I'm glad that her career is picking up steam and she works with a lot of directors I enjoy (Ritchie, Michael Bay - suck it haters, Edgar Wright etc.). She's the best part of this movie - except that her character makes no sense and they never really explain it (LOL). Is she supernatural? Okay, fine...but she's a supernatural being who wears a bomber jacket??? In the present day? HUH? And it's fairly obvious that Domhnall Gleeson is going to be the bad guy. He looks like the real-life billionaire guy who uses his sons sperm or something to look younger and he thinks he looks like a teenager, but he really looks like a sweaty 50 year old man. I don't think that's a coincidence considering the theme of the movie. The only fun thing about this movie is that I've been to a lot of the locations they go to (Bangkok, London, Vatican City, Austria), so that was cool!