Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Bad Boys: Ride or Die - The last Bad Boys was a bit of a disappointment - especially *spoiler* killing off a beloved character. This one was slightly better - I'm glad that they addressed this previous death and still made him part of this story (and an essential part, at that!). BUT - they cast a new woman as Theresa!!! WHAT THE FUCK?! Did they think we wouldn't notice?? Other than that, I enjoyed most of this - there's some good laughs, and an interesting story with some twists & turns (although the second I saw Eric Dane I said "bad guy" - and I think it's pretty clear from early on who the other bad guy is). I didn't really like the whole introduction of Mike's son in the previous one, but I really liked him in this. He plays off of the two of them really well and brings a calming energy to their craziness. I just really wish Bay would take the franchise back (he still does a cameo in this so he's not given it totally up yet - *crosses fingers*). There's some dumb parts, of course, like if they are fugitives, wouldn't cops already be assigned outside their houses? A whole team of assassins wouldn't be able to break in inconspicuously, but it does lead to a very, very good scene with Marcus' son-in-law. I love that they gave him a scene to shine in. I also LOVE the Reba McEntire cover of "Bad Boys" had me ROLLING. I can't believe they got her to do that. It's perfect.  

2. His Three Daughters - Such a beautiful and moving story about grief and dealing with the loss of a loved one through the tale of sibling rivalry. Natasha Lyonne, Carrie Coon and Elizabeth Olsen knock this out of the park - easily the three best performances I've seen this year, and I could not choose between them even if my life depended on it. They are submitting for "supporting" categories for awards, but they are definitely 3 lead performances (they are all in the movie for more than 50% of the runtime - that's a lead performance). But it will probably help their chances of winning. I kind of hope they give the edge to Lyonne - only because she's been in the industry longer and deserves the recognition (it's also very clear that only one of these sisters is from New York in real life so Lyonne has the edge there a bit). But anyway, the way these characters are developed and that the relationship dynamics are so clear within minutes of the film really speak to how well this film is written. So, if I'm going to root for any awards for this - I'm going with Original Screenplay for Azazel Jacobs (he also directed this. I'm not familiar with him, but I just looked up his IMDB and he graduated from the same college as me! A lot of now famous actors went to my school, but it's nice to see some behind the scenes love!). It's just gorgeously written - I might seek out the actual screenplay to read. Each sister is given such a specific identity with just a few lines and descriptors (like how Olsen's character is a former Deadhead - just from that tiny bit of information, I know so much about her). There are a few scenes that really blew me away - when the guy confronts the two sisters about how he has been there for their father more than they have, and how rude they are treating the other sister. And the dad's monologue at the end nearly brought a tear to my eye. There are also some funnier, lighthearted moments that keep the film from being dragged down ("married a few crazy bitches, raised a few crazy bitches" Hahaha!!). I think the only thing that sort of creeped into my mind while watching this is that the spouses and grandchildren aren't around too? That's weird - if my husband's parent was in hospice, I would be there with him to say goodbye. It just struck me as false that they are talking to their spouse on the phone, telling them how hard it is to watch your parent slowly die. They should be there!

3. Challengers - I don't really get the hype around Luca Guadagnino, but I liked this more than I've liked any of his previous movies. I'm not sure that says much - but to be clear, I think his previous movies are all 3 star movies - they are "good", but that's it. But this one had my attention slightly more and I really like the way the story unfolds so I rated it 3.5 stars. If I liked the cast more, I probably would have rated it 4 stars. I think this is probably the best I've seen Zendaya (I don't think she's a good actress. Sorry! I like her, though!). I don't see anything special about Mike Faust. Josh O'Connell is the saving grace, but I don't find him attractive. But going back to Zendaya - I just think the casting is weird because these two guys describe her as "the hottest woman they've ever seen" and that...just...can't be true? She's very pretty, cute, stylish, her "face card never declines" as the kids say, etc., but HOTTEST WOMAN EVER? I also don't know much about tennis, but every woman tennis player I've ever seen is muscular and toned - especially in their arms, and Zendaya is a stick!! (that's not a bad thing! I'm a stick too, although I might not be able to say that anymore since I started finally gaining weight since I turned 40). I just would have cast completely different people in these roles. I saw some criticize the time jumps, but I think that's the only thing that kept it really interesting. That, and the love triangle aspect. But there are some scenes that are very bad - like the scene with the wind (insanely bad filmmaking), and the slo-mo scenes combined with the techno music....ugh. I actually saw a lot of praise for the slow motion scenes (some described it as "epic" LOL), but I rolled my eyes every single time. The other bad part is that tennis is fucking boring. I basically painted my nails during the actual tennis scenes because I can't waste my time watching a fucking ball get hit back and forth. I was WAITING for him to do the stupid gesture with the ball in the center FOR THE ENTIRE MOVIE because it's a BIG foreshadowing moment in the beginning. So, of course, they wait for the end. And then it...just...ends. I like that they don't give the audience an ending, but it's obviously a bit unsatisfying for all this build-up. 

4. I Saw the TV Glow - I'm very surprised that I didn't really like this. But then again, the best comparison I can give is that it's Twin Peaks level of weird, and I've never really been a Twin Peaks fan (I like certain aspects of it). I also saw a review that described it as "Donnie Darko for they/thems" which is 100% true - but I never really liked Donnie Darko either so that makes sense. I definitely like what it's trying to do, and I'm glad that people are connecting to it - especially queer & trans audiences. I just think Justice Smith is terrible and his voice bothers me so much - it's so monotoned! The younger actor playing him also looks nothing like him, so that's a bit weird. And they should have just kept the younger actor for more of the movie because they introduce Smith when it jumps 2 years later (making him 15ish?) and Smith looks like a 30 year old (he's 29 in real life). It's very distracting. And then 42 year old Danielle Deadwyler is his mom (she's younger than me for fuck sake!), and she's severely underused. There's just so much I don't like about it right from the beginning, and then he breaks the 4th wall and I almost slammed my head into a wall. It's just...bad. I think it should have leaned way more into the asexuality aspect - and the childhood trauma that he suffers PTSD from. While I do believe that you are born with your sexuality (and I do believe that it's a spectrum), asexuality is also linked to childhood abuse (two things can be true at the same time). It's not as talked about publicly because it takes away from the "born this way" mentality, but I think it's a mistake to not fully discuss ideas because they don't fit into a certain theory. Anyway, I just wish they explored the ideas more instead of being so abstract. There's some disturbing scenes, but it all feels very amateur and derivative. I liked the ending though - where he watches this tv show (a teenage obsession) as an adult and is like "what the fuck? This is terrible" (not actual dialogue) because I'm sure if I tried to watch any of those Nickelodeon shows like Salute Your Shorts or Are you Afraid of the Dark?, they would be painful to watch as an adult. 

5. Asphalt City - This is grim. But the good kind of grim. The kind of grim that you expect with the story revolving around paramedics navigating their job in NYC. There's a great cast - Sean Penn, Tye Sheridan, and Michael Pitt (who should be a much bigger star by now. What the fuck is taking so long?). But there's also...Mike Tyson? I love how everyone keeps talking about "me too" and "canceling" people in Hollywood, but then they keep employing abusers like Mike Tyson (and Sean Penn, but that's, at least, a grey area...). It's just baffling. It's not like he's a great actor or brings anything to the table. It's very easy to just...not...hire him. ANYWAY, otherwise, I liked this movie a lot. I think it does a good job in showing the psychological and emotional effects of stressful jobs like this - ones where life and decisions are made regularly, and also dealing with emotionally unwell people in NYC must be incredibly draining. Trying to remain unbiased when you're dealing with drug addicts is a *big* part of the plot, and it is explored in a very dark and gritty way. Penn is exactly how you'd expect, playing a grizzled paramedic training the new kid on the block. Sheridan has been hit or miss for me, but he's very good here - especially during the scene towards the end. Incredible stuff. I just don't like seeing him in sex scenes because he still seems like he's 15 to me. He's a BABY! And Michael Pitt is great as the bully/asshole character, but I wish he was in it more.