Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Call Me by Your Name - What a disappointment. I don't have any idea what everyone was praising this movie for. It's a really boring love story about an entitled boy and an even more entitled man (both are complete assholes and I have no idea why anyone roots for them to be happy???). Yes, Timothee Chalamet is good (not even close to the best performance of last year), and Yes, Michael Stuhlbarg is a treasure. That doesn't make this a good movie. Armie Hammer is adorable and that little dance that he does just about stole my heart, but again, this does not make this a good movie. Romance is not necessarily my favorite Drama sub-genre, but a great story is always welcome. This story felt very disingenuous. I never felt like they actually liked each other until *suddenly* they are in love/lust. Their interactions from the very beginning don't seem like real people talking to each other - they are very argumentative for no apparent reason and the scenes are cut really short. Also, I would never root for a relationship about an adult taking advantage of an impressionable teen who is at a critical moment of discovering himself. It's all just a really boring. That last shot, though, is perfect.

2. Only the Brave - Better than I thought, but still a little bit of a cliched "based on a true tale of heroic men" story. It's the type of movie that you would expect Marky Mark to star in, but the cast is actually great (for the record, I love Marky Mark, but I'm tired of him in these types of roles). Josh Brolin is an incredible underrated actor - he can do it all, from big blockbusters to indies to biopics, and he is brilliant in all of them. Miles Teller, Taylor Kitsch, James Badge Dale, Jennifer Connelly, Andie MacDowell, and Jeff Bridges - you really can't go wrong with that cast. So this film tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots - a group of 20 firefighters who battled the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona, in which 19 of them died (*sorry for the spoiler, but it's a pretty famous story). I think they did a good job with development of characters and relationships - they created a good  amount of tension, but also camaraderie among them. They also did a great job with the drama between Brolin and Connelly's characters (as husband and wife) - there is very realistic fighting between them, but there is a still a deep love between them (and the fight is based on something big, not just bickering and drama for drama's sake). I really love how they edited the end credits with the real people, though. I think that will be the most memorable part of the movie.

3. Blockers - Cute, funny, semi-original, fully satisfying comedy. I laughed out-loud several times - my favorite scene is definitely The Notebook scene. I've mentioned my love for Leslie Mann many times before, but this movie just continued to solidify that love. She is one of the funniest actresses around, but still so charming and sweet (and GORGEOUS). I also really loved the girl who played Sam, and I figured out why! She's the wonderfully talented Pamela Adlon's daughter!! I can't wait to see more from her. John Cena definitely steals the spotlight, though - he has all of the really gross-out humor scenes that are (unfortunately) the most memorable scenes. He does it with an awkward, endearing ease. All of the characters are given moments and allowed to shine, which is great. The premise is a little wacky to me (my mom was never, ever invested in my personal life when I was a teenager. I think she always just assumed that I knew what I was doing and it was none of her business...). Also can they not say "Cock Blockers"? Because the title Blockers is odd, but it makes sense with the picture of the rooster in front of it. It's a weird, but brilliant way to circumvent the standards for film titles.

4. A Bad Moms Christmas - I liked Bad Moms for many reasons, and I was also frustrated by it for many reasons. Yet, overall, my memory of it is that it's a cute movie in which 3 talented women get to shine (actually 4 including Christina Applegate, but she wasn't in this one! How disappointing!). This one is...not so cute. It's also not funny. It's about these really entitled, wealthy people who I guess we are supposed to feel bad for because their Christmas doesn't go exactly as planned? I thought the first one had a good message about teaching your kids to be independent and grateful. This one didn't really have a message. Did Christine Baranski's character learn to not be a racist bitch? No...not really? So, what's the point then? Anyway, the only good thing about this movie is the end credits. Super cute. Oh, and Jay Hernandez.

5. Ready Player One - I haven't read the book (added it to the list!), so I didn't really have any of the expectations that people seemed to have. I know it's Spielberg and therefore, expectations are automatically high, but that hasn't been the case for me in....years. I honestly thought I would be bored to death, so I'm happy to report that I had so much fun with this movie! I mean, I guess as much fun as one can have with a movie set during a global apocalypse. Is it 90s Spielberg? Not even close. However, it felt closer to it than any movie of the last decade. I think many people are disappointed because it has so much potential to be more than it is - it's a 3 1/2 star film that could have easily been 5 stars. If they developed the characters a bit more, had a few more moments of wittier dialogue, edited the ending down, etc. it could have been perfect. But, it is what it is, and I enjoyed the Hell out of it. Partly because of the incredible cast - Olivia Cooke and Tye Sheridan are perfect. Partly because it felt like it was made with love and affection for pop culture. But mostly because it's just a solid, straight-forward summer blockbuster type flick.