Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Malcolm & Marie - *some slight spoilers* Ok...where to begin? First, I should start off by saying that overall, I like this movie. There are some beautiful shots - although, I'm really over the black & white trend that's started up over the past few years (it just instantly feels pretentious), there's a lot of interesting discussions, and I felt compelled to care about these characters. However, it's drowning in ideas, it doesn't feel authentic to me at all, and I think the acting is a bit iffy in parts. I also don't think these two have any chemistry (which I blame on the acting). Their fight is all over the place with no clear direction or purpose other than making me hope they break up because they clearly don't even like each other, let alone love each other. I don't know much about Sam Levinson and I haven't watched Euphoria (yet), but I was always under the impression that it gets fairly positive reviews, so the underlying hate towards critics and film writers seems unwarranted. And turning it into a discussion of race seems borderline offensive coming from a director who is not only white and male, but also benefiting from nepotism (he's literally the epitome of privileged). Like, what exactly is he complaining about? That people don't see his work as authentic? But...it's not. It also doesn't have to be? Although, I think this whole discussion is absolutely fascinating and I agree that boxing someone in because of their identity is a huge mistake, but it also doesn't protect you from criticism (and if you can't handle criticism then the whole part about learning and growing through other perspectives becomes a moot point). There's also a stubbornness to the dialogue - like when the characters talk about the male gaze while Zendaya is laying in her underwear with no bra on (she's not exactly sexualized, but she is far less clothed than her male counterpart for most of the movie). And, I don't think it's inauthentic because a white guy wrote this - I think it's inauthentic because there are so many small moments that don't feel real at all. An example: Zendaya wearing her slinky dress and stockings for waaaaay too long. Fancy clothes come off the second I step in the door (and I think most women would agree with me). And she pees outside. LOL. No woman would WILLINGLY pee outside. Also, the fact that they fight for this long and are so mean to each other. I would just leave. I would rather sleep in my car then stay with someone who says the things that they say (but they are rich - so...go stay in a hotel? Why are you subjecting yourself to this?). As for the actors - I want to like Zendaya. Actually, I want to love her. She's so awful in the Spider-Man movies, though so it's hard. She's not terrible here - and she's actually great in some scenes (the "thank you" speech at the end is wonderful), but she's so stiff for most of the movie. I think part of it is honestly, the makeup - the eye makeup is so thick she has trouble showing any emotion in her eyes because she's squinting so much. Once she's "undressed" she gets stronger. But the part that killed me is the part where she does her "crazy with a knife" scene because it showcases the worst acting I've seen in a while, and then it's revealed that she's "acting". Well, girl, you just made it abundantly clear as to why you didn't get the role because that shit was laughable. John David Washington is a little bit better than he was in Tenet (thank God), but definitely nothing memorable or notable about his performance. And, as far as the age difference that sparked debate - someone in their mid-20s dating someone in their mid-30s is not problematic. For fuck's sake, I'm exhausted. 

2. The Dig - I think it's weird that this movie is getting such positive reviews. It's ok. Well-made, interesting, great acting, but also...it's sort of blah? Not something I will remember a few months from now. There are a few intense scenes mixed in with some smaller stories that are interesting, but as a whole I was pretty bored for most of it. It's nice to see Carey Mulligan back in the spotlight again - I don't think I've seen her in anything in a few years, but with this and the much more popular, Promising Young Woman, she's clearly still an acting force. I like her, but she just always has this "I'm about to cry" look on her face that really gets under my skin. She's...fine here. But, I HAD NO IDEA that Lily James is in this!! I actually screamed out loud when she appeared (God, I'm such a loser...), but she's just so cute! And probably has the most interesting storyline in the movie. I don't really have much else to say, which I think is always a problem. The fact that it's a true story is kind of interesting, I guess? 

3. The Tax Collector - Wow...I was not expecting this to be as terrible as it is. First, he may be a shitty human being, but Shia almost always picks good projects (barring Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and if you say the Transformer movies, please know that I hate you). And overall, I would definitely call myself a David Ayer fan. Fury, Harsh Times, End of Watch - all great, plus he wrote the first Fast & Furious movie, Training Day, and one of my favorite movies - S.W.A.T (very underrated Colin Farrell movie). I feel like he has a very signature style that you can immediately go - "oh is this David Ayer?", which I think is a compliment of the highest order. But this movie. Oh. This movie. There was a point where I found myself with both hands rubbing my temples wondering if I was going to be able to make it through the whole thing. The only good thing I can say is that it doesn't hold back when it comes to the violence and bloodshed. But, the plot is so dumb and it all could have been easily avoided, so all of the violence and bloodshed is absolutely pointless. I think my breaking point is when the main guy (too lazy to look him up) *MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD* gives his bloody, dead wife a bath and then gets INTO THE BATH WITH HER. And I'm dumbfounded as to why Shia would get a real-life gigantic chest tattoo, for the authenticity of this character, only to be featured shirtless for literally 5 seconds, mostly covered in blood, in terrible lighting right before he dies. So, not only is he shitty, he's also fucking dumb. And these two guys don't really seem that scary? Especially compared to the people around them. It's all just really, really bad. 

4. Run - This is a solid little psychological horror movie. You can tell where it's going rather quickly, but I think that's done on purpose - it's not really meant to shock you, but is still disturbing to watch this girl discover just how evil her mother is. It's not realistic in ANY way, but still a satisfyingly creepy idea. There are some parts that I questioned the particular plot point - like her using the old fashion needle for diabetes (or maybe this still exists? My best friend in high school had severe diabetes and had one of those box things attached to her. She was part of the initial trials for it, but that was 20 years ago so I think that is the "norm" with diabetes treatment now? I could be wrong). This combined with her use of 411 on the land-line telephone made me think that this was supposed to be set in the 90s (which would have made it much more realistic). But then she also mentions not having an iPhone, so clearly it's meant to take place closer to present day. The fact that she is an intelligent girl, with a strong education (even if it's home-schooled), she would have questioned all of this waaaay before this story begins. And does 411 even exist anymore??? And when it did exist you could just write the number down and call it yourself - it only charged you if you had them place the call for you (I think? But again...it's been 20 years since I even heard of 411 being used). Anyway, I'm getting down to the nitty-gritty, but my point is that there's a lot of "turn your brain off" and enjoy it kind of story-telling. Sarah Paulson is so good in this role; she's really good at being creepy (and also adorably sweet, which is a tough combination to perfect). With all its predictableness, I still somehow did not see the little twist at the end (in retrospect, I totally should have). Also, it's hilarious that this was originally supposed to be released on Mother's Day (on purpose). That's great marketing - too bad it didn't work out that way.

5. Greenland - *spoilers* It seems like an impossible task to make a disaster movie without falling into the typical clichés of these movies, but somehow this does it, and it does it well. I was skeptical, especially considering that it stars Gerard Butler (and I love Gerard Butler, but he hasn't made an actual good movie...just fun ones - a case can be made for 300 and RocknRolla being actually good and fun). I think the reason this works so well is because it's fairly low-key. Aside from the exploding plane and the scene where they outrun molten rocks (LOL), the rest of it feels like it could happen. Also, the whole diabetes medicine plot feels forced - first, isn't it weird that I watched two movies in a row that have this as a plot point? (and this one has the box thingy I was referring to with Run) Second, if they aren't taking anyone with a chronic illness then this family would have never been on the list to begin with. If such a list exists, I'm sure it is highly curated and researched. Third, the kid would die anyway, right? They only have a month's worth of insulin and the bunker probably doesn't have a high supply of it if they aren't accepting people with such an illness. But if you just ignore all that, and go with the "chaos" of it all, it seems very realistic. And I really like how they showed most people trying to be helpful and selfless, including people who are helping the people on "the list" even though they themselves are not on "the list". They show the awful people too, but I think that's true to life (you'll see both the best and the worst of humanity in situations like this). I also love the emotion behind it - I actually had to hold back tears...TWICE. I was definitely not expecting that. And, I just love Morena Baccarin (and am extremely jealous of her. She's married to my soulmate Ryan Atwood! So very jealous). Overall, it's really intense, harrowing, and compelling. On a side-note, if there ever is a planet-killing comet hurdling towards Earth, I would definitely NOT want to be on this list. I would just hunker down with the kitties and wait for the end.