Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Saturday Night - So, I really liked this. I wasn't expecting to, especially considering that I haven't enjoyed SNL in probably 25 years (at least). I'm fascinated by how popular it still is - every Sunday, I see dozens of people on my twitter (now bluesky) sharing clips of an episode from the night before, describing it as "hilarious", and it never is. BUT, it was ground-breaking television at the time, and it continued to be great up until the late 90s. So, I thought this movie was really interesting to see the chaos that occurred right before the first episode aired. I'm not sure how truthful it all is (I feel like a lot of it is exaggerated for effect), but it held my interest. I think Reitman captured the spirit of what a "live" show feels like, there's some great tracking shots, and the cast is INSPIRING. Ella Hunt as Gilda Radnor??? Dylan O'Brien as Dan Akroyd??? *Chef's kiss* Plus, Rachel Sennott, Kaia Gerber, Lamorne Morris, Matthew Rhys, Willem Dafoe, Cooper Hoffman - it's just a really great mix of solid character actors and up-and-comers, and they all work together really well. There's some really funny dialogue and moments (the "kill all the whiteys I see" moment is hilarious). I think it could have had a little more of a plot though - it just follows these people around during this specific day, but there's no real point of it, no depth or character study (except that Chevy Chase was an asshole, but I think we're all well aware of that by now). I also could have done without Nicholas Braun in TWO roles?? What's the point of that? He plays both Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman. Aside from the fact that he's been accused of being a sexual predator (texting teenage girls inappropriate content allegedly), he's not, like, a great actor or anything. It's a bit of a distraction to see him in two roles and I don't understand the point of this gimmick. 

2. Firebrand - I had not heard of this, but it has Alicia Vikander and Jude Law so I'M IN! I'm also not super well-versed on British royalty but I do know about Henry the VIII's reign and history with his wives because I watched The Tudors (haha!). I liked this - it's really beautiful (some of the scenes looked straight out of a painting), the costume design is gorgeous, and I like that they do a bit of an alternative ending (they depict a long-standing rumor instead of what is known as fact). They basically give credit for Queen Elizabeth I's reign to Catherine; they theorize that Elizabeth was seemingly inspired by Catherine's ideas and hopes for the future. They do a good job of making Law incredibly unattractive too - in reality, at this point in his life, Henry was like 400lbs and barely able to walk, which is assumed to be the reason behind him becoming a tyrant (that and not producing a son). It's weird to cast Law in that role, but it works - I've never been less attracted to him during those awful sex scenes. I don't think this is something that a wide audience will enjoy, but if you are interested in this history then I recommend it. 

3. Mothers' Instinct - It's absolutely WILD that a movie that stars Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain has gone completely under-the-radar. I assumed it was bad, but I actually thought it was pretty good?! It has a great plot, and the acting is incredible (Hathaway should be in awards conversation for the look she has on her face during the "realization" of what just occurred - it's a haunting look of a person that just experienced the worst thing that could ever happen). I think I had the advantage of not knowing anything about it, so when the catalyst to the story happens, it was a bit shocking - and then the way these two women's relationship changes so quickly because of this event is really interesting. There's a little bit of genre-mixing too because I was not expecting the horror/psychological twists and the ending is a straight up horror film (like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle/Single White Female type horror). I do think that they didn't really take the concept far enough. It would have benefitted from a bit more intensity & mystery. It also gets a bit repetitive. And, as much as I love both of these actresses, I think these roles would have been better portrayed by younger people. It is certainly more common now for women in their 40s to have children, but this film is set in the early 1960s. It was very rare for a 47 year old woman to talk about wanting a baby. Maybe we're supposed to pretend that these women are early 30s because they could both pass for it, but even that would be a stretch. These characters should be portrayed by actresses in their mid-20s. It's based on a book, and I assume they are younger in the book but I'm too lazy to look it up. Anyway, aside from the age thing, Hathaway fits this time period so well, but Chastain stands out a bit with that blonde hair. I do love Anders Danielsen Lie and, of course, Josh Charles. Overall, I was expecting a 2 star film and it's a solid 3 star one. 

4. A Real Pain - While I really liked this movie - I don't think it should be in awards conversations (maybe original screenplay, but that's it). I do think Kieran Culkin is great, but he's also the same exact character that he always is. He does it well, but that doesn't mean he should get an acting award. And I've already stated my anger that he's campaigning in the supporting actor category when he has almost the exact same amount of screen time as the lead. It's a co-lead performance. Period. And as CO-LEADS, Culkin and Eisenberg have great chemistry together as cousins who have completely opposite nature. I think I connected to their relationship so much because I am very much like Eisenberg's character - reserved, organized, thoughtful of others, rule-follower, etc., and my best friend is not only the exact opposite, but she's also bipolar. They never really discuss if Culkin's character is bipolar, but he has all the symptoms - suicidal, narcissistic, manic. It's interesting to see them interact in real life because they both seem very much like their characters (I'm thinking of a specific interview in which Culkin is claiming that you should just get to the airport 10 minutes before boarding because they'll let you cut the line and you'll most likely get to your flight, and Eisenberg is having a heart attack as he's saying this. Because the reality of that is that if EVERYONE followed this advice then there would be a complete breakdown of air travel - just fucking get there 2 hours before like they advise! FOLLOW THE RULES! WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY! Eisenberg responds "you're the reason that society will collapse" LOL.). Culkin is very much a charming person and can command the attention of a room full of people, so I think he does do justice to this role - I believe that a lot of people like this are actually extremely depressed and self-conscious. There's this obsessive need to be the main character of every situation, in order to convince everyone that they're happy! They are living life to the fullest! ETC.! I find it exhausting. But I love my best friend to death; she just drives me crazy sometimes. I'm not always the biggest fan of Jesse Eisenberg, but when he's good, he's GOOD. And he's always good when he gets to play into his own neurosis. I love that he wrote & directed this because it feels like a very personal movie. Not only do I connect with the relationship between them, I also connect with the plot. The whole plot of this story is that these cousins go on a tour of Poland to honor their grandmother who died recently. They visit a lot of important Jewish sites, including a concentration camp. My Jewish grandmother was also one of my favorite people in the world, and even though I am not religious, I try to honor her faith here and there. I have visited a concentration camp, and it is an indescribable experience. I also had a cousin that I grew up with that I was very close to as a child, but grew apart from as we got older, and then he killed himself. I wish every single day that I could go back in time and book a trip for us to get away together, make him feel loved, inspire him to give life another shot. I hope that maybe this film will inspire someone else to take that action for a loved one that might not be doing well. It will mean the world to them, even if they don't acknowledge it. I clearly did like this film very much, and I recommend it for anyone that likes character-driven dramas. I just wish people would calm down with the hyperbole and that Kieran wasn't tainting an Oscar category. 

5. Young Woman and the Sea - This is a fairly decent biopic about an incredible woman who fought against the odds and accomplished something very few people have. I've said it before, but I'll say it again - I'll never understand the need some people have to risk their lives like this, but it does make for an interesting story. I don't have much of an impression of Daisy Ridley quite yet. I don't dislike her, but I haven't seen her give a strong lead performance yet, however, this is a step in a positive direction. This follows the exact beats that you would expect out of any sports underdog story, but I did learn a few things about this woman. First, Trudy Ederle is a New Yorker (and even lived in NJ for a bit). I guess I assumed that the first woman to swim the English Channel would be...English?. Second, she was kind of a bad-ass! I love the way it portrays the sexism that she faced and how she reacted to it. She held 4 world records and would still get asked about having a boyfriend and what she likes to cook (sadly not much has changed from the 20s which is so insane and disheartening). And third, after her record-breaking swim, NYC held a parade for her that is still the biggest parade ever thrown in NYC (at least, according to the end credits of the film)!?! That's crazy! Anyway, as I feared, watching someone swim, especially in the beginning - it's just her swimming and audiences clapping, wash, rinse, repeat - is incredibly boring. I also highly doubt they said the words "you bet your ass" in the 1920s. Stephen Graham is excellent though.