Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Rocketman - I absolutely LOVED it. I watched it 10 days ago, and I have thought about it every second of every day for the past 10 days. It just might be my favorite Biopic of all-time (big words, I know but I'm not a big fan of the genre - Milk was at the top of the list previously). First, I think it's genius to have the tagline "Based on a true fantasy", because that sets the tone from the beginning. It's a musical fantasy that utilizes Elton John's songs to tell his life story. Second, it's a bit weird to do a Biopic about a musical legend that's still...alive, but this movie gives a great case for how to make it work - getting John involved, it seemed so personal, so genuine, and so...real (even though it is a fantasy! The line that's straddled is so perfectly balanced). Third, the whole thing just made me incredibly happy - even in its darkest moments (maybe it's knowing that John doesn't, in fact, die of an overdose or by suicide helps). Fourth, it's just so beautifully choreographed - there are so many moments of sheer beauty. The scene that will stick with me forever is the suicide-hospital-Dodger Stadium scene. It's incredible. And Last, Taron Egerton, as Elton John, is the best casting decision of the fucking century. I remember watching Sing and hearing Egerton sing "I'm Still Standing" and thinking "wow! he sounds like Elton John, but also like his own version". That's exactly how I felt for this whole movie. He sounds just close enough to John, without sounding like parody. He also acted his ass off. It's Oscar-worthy material (and as much as it pains me to say, is my favorite performance this year replacing my precious James McAvoy in Glass). And, as I've mentioned probably a dozen times, Taron is fucking HOT as fuck. Even in the Elton John getup.

2. The Meg - I don't care, I will always be excited by a movie that has Jason Statham fighting a giant shark. I wish this was as fun as it was advertised, but it was actually a little bit boring. I don't really think it got interesting until the last 30 minutes (major shark attack carnage), but by that point I was already over it. Rainn Wilson as a billionaire is actually perfect casting. Everyone else (aside from Statham) was pretty forgettable (and I was hoping for their immediate deaths). Ruby Rose is really disappointing in this - she is almost robotic (I thought that maybe that was going to be some kind of big twist or something). She looked like a wet robot for the whole movie. I don't really have that much else to say. Watch Piranha instead.

3. Halloween (2018) - I don't know if I've ever written about my love for the original Halloween. I guess I just assume that it's a given. I should start with the fact that I was never really a Horror movie fan. I was never not not a fan, but there is definitely a Horror genre cult that I'm not a part of. I just enjoy good movies, in general, and sometimes it happens to be a horror movie. Typically, I only enjoy serial killer type horror movies (as opposed to supernatural). I didn't see the original Halloween until after I watched Scream (so '97-ish. I was 16-ish.). It was because I loved Scream so, so, so much that I began to seek out older horror films. Scream was really the first big horror movie that gave me nightmares (although when I was a kid, I had nightmares over Firestarter and from Tales from the Crypt). Scream also came out around the time I really started getting into films. So I loved watching Halloween and realizing how many filmmakers were influenced by it. Then, purely because of my age and my love for Josh Hartnett, I was obsessed with Halloween H20 (I mean, they even got Janet Leigh to cameo!). It's still probably my favorite of the sequels. Anyway, I was excited for this "official" sequel. I think it's weird to ignore all previous sequels, but hey, I guess anything goes nowadays. As a sequel, it's really strong. I'm excited for more. Jamie Lee Curtis is a fucking legend and I'm so proud to be named after her (there are conflicting stories about how I was named, but I always go with this one because it's cooler). But how on Earth did I not know that she's been married to Christopher Guest for the past 30 years??? Judy Greer as her daughter is fantastic casting (because I always love Judy Greer. More Judy Greer in movies please). Overall, the plot is just stupid - I mean, wouldn't she just get an actual safe room instead of booby trapping her house with those stupid metal bars? And she certainly would have gotten rid of those stupid closet doors! It's also not scary, like, at all, but it's fun to watch and sometimes that goes a long way.

4. Searching - Actually sort of brilliant. I didn't really recognize the brilliance behind it while watching it, but it's really stuck with me. The first 10 minutes almost made me burst into tears - Jesus Christ. But then, it turns into this really great story about a father trying to connect to his teenage daughter and realizing that he knows nothing about her. It's fascinating to think that a 16 year old has had their entire life documented online. Like from literal birth. It's a very simple story of a missing girl, but there is so much depth and accuracy in its story-telling within the age of social media. There are a few issues I have with the plot - *slight spoilers ahead* - like how they didn't look into the brother's texts or facetime messages earlier. However, the ending completely shocked me. It's all spelled out within the movie, but it's so subtle that when the ending is revealed I was just blown away by it. I would love to watch it again to make sure it holds up, but on first impressions, I think it does. Which is great! I hate when a big twist happens and you just know if you watch it again, the twist doesn't make any sense. John Cho does a really great job - my heart was just breaking for him through the whole movie. I highly recommend this movie.

5. Mary Poppins Returns - Just not my thing. However, I'm not really sure who the audience is exactly because I can't imagine kids enjoying this at all. It's just so boring and it feels really dated. And I'm about to say something really controversial, but I don't like Lin-Manuel Miranda. I don't really know much from him, and I know Hamilton is supposed to be the BEST MUSICAL EVER, but I never had any interest in watching it (honestly, looks horrendous to me). He's in this movie a whole lot, so it was really hard for me to watch. His voice just irks me. I tried to focus on Emily Blunt, because she's a queen. Imagine getting the call to play one of the most iconic characters of all time? Such an honor, but also incredibly stressful, I imagine. She did a wonderful job embodying the character, but also giving it her own touch. I loved the Dick Van Dyke cameo, I wished they got Julie Andrews. That would have been so lovely. The movie just didn't feel special enough. And I wanted to fast-forward through every song because, damn, those songs are rough.