Thoughts on 5 Films

1. The Gorge - Sorry, but I hated this. I hope it's the worst movie I see all year. I should have expected it because a lot of Apple + movies are terrible, or even just plain mediocre (yes, even the Oscar winning one). But I was intrigued by the Miles Teller/Anya Taylor-Joy combination, and sometimes Scott Derrickson has some wins (The Black Phone is great!). I was already annoyed that they kill off Sope Dirisu so quickly (sorry for the spoiler, but it really doesn't matter, I promise). But I was charmed by the beginnings of this romance - they are super cute, learning about each other from a distance. But then Anya speaks and I felt like someone was stabbing me in the brain. That accent is ROUGH. And why is she wearing shorts in the snow??? Girl, put some clothes on! Are you stupid? And more importantly, is this movie stupid or what? It's just so fucking dumb. And really, really ugly. The skeleton shaped trees? Is that supposed to be scary or something? I was so bored that I stopped paying attention and I genuinely could not tell you how they get out of the gorge (I stopped paying attention once they are both down there). My husband (who refused to watch this with me) asked me the next day how it ended and I said "oh they find each other at a restaurant on some island or some shit and live happily ever after" and he said "no, I mean what happens to the gorge?" "oh, I have no fucking clue". 

2. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy - This was way better than I was expecting, and far better than the previous one. I do remember being really upset that they tell Bridget that she's having a "geriatric pregnancy" because I did not know that's what they call it when a woman over 35 is pregnant, I thought it was just a cruel joke. Maybe they should call it something else, though? Because that sounds so mean. Anyway, I did not expect Hugh Grant to show up in this one because I thought HE DIED in the last one??? I had to google it and apparently it's revealed that he survived the plane crash? But I don't remember that. I think it's sad that they kill off Mark Darcy, but it does allow Bridget's story to continue in an interesting way. And I like that it's not set immediately after his death - I think four years of grieving is enough time, and Mark would want her to move on. The little fling that she has with Leo Woodall's character is done really well because a 27 year gap is a big deal, for a relationship, but not for a fling. I think it would be unfair of her to try to continue this relationship knowing full well that this kid (yes, 27 is still a kid) doesn't know who he his or what he wants out of life yet. But she had a fun fling, and there's nothing wrong with that. I didn't realize that the girl from The Last of Us is Thandiwe Newton's daughter???!! But she's gorgeous, and she has great screen presence (like her mom). And Chiwetel Ejiofor is always a welcome presence. I love that her three friends from the original make an appearance too. Overall, I think they did a really good job with the story - it's funny, sweet, and the end with the son singing almost made me cry (ALMOST!). I look forward to the next Bridget Jones when she's in her 70s becoming a grandmother, maybe, or watching her children enter the dating game, perhaps?

3. Back in Action - Really dumb, generic, and pointless action movie. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case it is. I love Cameron Diaz and I'm so happy that she's back!!! I hope she sticks around - she's one of those actresses that just shines on screen, and always seems to be having fun. I find that energy really infectious, and I welcome it. I'm also happy that Jamie Foxx is still alive!!! I was so worried about him. They have great chemistry together - and make a very believable couple, but that's not enough to make the film interesting. And the beginning is terrible - and I was really confused because Diaz announces that she's pregnant and I screamed "she's 52!", only to remember that it's supposed to be 15 years earlier, which also explains why they both look so weird in the beginning. Is it de-aging tech or just bad makeup? I'm not sure, but it's awful. Plus, there is NO WAY they would survive that plane crash. But, whatever. Then we cut to this spy couple living a normal life in the suburbs (somehow?? Even though they both "died" - how did they buy a house? get a driver's license? etc.?), and we get scenes with these Gen Xers dancing to a hip-hop song in the car while their children die of embarrassment in the backseat because we haven't seen that a million times. There's a great supporting cast - Andrew Scott (why would he do this? Was it quid pro quo for getting the Ripley gig?), Kyle Chandler - who usually picks far better films to appear in (he's in so many Oscar nominated movies! Look it up!), and Glenn Close!! Which is actually really great casting for Diaz's mom. But, it's all just so stupid and unoriginal. On a sidenote, I looked up what the last acting role Diaz had done because I knew it's been a while, but was surprised that it was 2011's Annie remake (also starring Jamie Foxx). I realized I hadn't seen it, so I popped it on this morning, and wow - Diaz is spectacularly bad as Miss Hannigan. Is this why she quit? Did the reviews eviscerate her??? And they have her SING?? I don't blame her though, it's just bad casting (I actually think Rose Byrne & her should have switched roles). 

4. Flow - I really liked this, but it's not better than The Wild Robot. Far from it, actually - and I can't believe it won the Oscar over it. I will say, that my cats LOVED it. Lily, especially. She watched almost the whole thing and kept sitting in front of the screen - blocking a lot of my view. I think it was all of the nature noises, in particular, that really peaked her interest. I'm glad that I already knew beforehand that it has no dialogue, so I prepared myself. The animation is great, but some of it looks a little flat to me. It definitely has the look of a videogame, which isn't a bad thing - there's still a lot of talent involved, but it's not as gorgeous as The Wild Robot. And I found the story to be so heavy-handed. Like, of course, an audience is going to get emotional watching this cat just try to survive - it all feels manipulative though. While The Wild Robot has the same story AND SO MUCH MORE. More depth, more character development, more backstory...just MORE. There are a few emotional beats that got me, like the bird getting abandoned by the other birds after protecting the cat. Animals in peril will always bring a lump in my throat - so I basically just wanted to cry through the whole thing. And it doesn't let up; there are no moments that uplift or inspire - it's just totally depressing. But cute, I guess. 

5. Nosferatu (2024) - Nope, not a fan. This isn't surprising considering that I haven't liked any of Robert Eggers' films. They are well made movies, but way overpraised - especially by film bros. My ranking would be: The Northman > Nosferatu > The VVitch >>>>>>>>>>The Lighthouse. But I rate The Northman three stars and it gets worse from there. I love the original Nosferatu, but I haven't seen it since I was in college (and I probably watched it a dozen times for different film classes. I feel like it was part of every film class curriculum). I'm also not the biggest fan of Lily-Rose Depp. I've seen her in multiple things from The Idol to Voyagers and she has a dead behind the eyes look - just no emotion in her eyes at all. I think she gives a FANTASTIC physical performance here - she contorts herself to extremes, but it's the dialogue she has a problem with. And she still has the dead eyes, but it kind of works here to be fair. I also hate Emma Corrin - just a terrible actor, and they seem really out of place in this. And Aaron Taylor-Johnson?? Are they trying to kill me? Anyway, I DO like Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Skarsgard though. But the movie is just. so. boring. It's very hard to pay attention to. The colors are very muted for effect, but it doesn't work for me. I don't really have anything else to say - the costumes and makeup are great, but that's all I got. 

3 Thoughts on The Oscars

1. The Show - I loved it! I loved last year's Oscars too, so this is a nice run! I hate Jimmy Kimmel (although I think he did a great job last year), so I was SO relieved that they let someone else do it this year - and I think Conan did a fantastic job. He told good jokes - nothing too political (aside from one joke), nothing too mean, but still solid jokes. My favorite joke actually happened right in the beginning with his "four-time Oscar viewer" introduction. However, there were some weird choices made for the rest of the show. While Ariana & Cynthia sounded fantastic - why the Wizard of Oz montage? I don't get it. Just so they could get a Wicked moment on stage? (one a side note, my cat Mazie is weirdly TERRIFIED of Cynthia - I think it might be the nails, but as Cynthia was singing she got all spooked and her fur poofed out and and then she ran away when she really started belting those notes. It was actually hilarious and I wish I recorded it). And then why was there basically an In Memoriam for James Bond featuring Margaret Qualley...for some reason??? It was so weird and I'm not cool enough to know who those singers are. I've at least heard of Doja Cat, but I've never heard her sing before and I hope I never have to hear her again because that sounded terrible. And then a tribute to Quincy Jones??? I loved him! But that would make more sense for the Grammys. And another song from The Wiz?? WHAT? WHY? I think they should have done a longer tribute to David Lynch if anything. I don't know why they just didn't have the nominees for Original Song perform?? Plus, I don't know why they keep trying to reinvent how the nominees are announced. Just have two presenters come out, do a bit, then show clips of the nominees. Done and done. This whole let's have the presenter talk about each nominee is so stupid. And even stupider is the 5 presenters for each nominee bit. This made the show even longer than it needed to be. But I did like Nick Offerman as the announcer (his mispronunciation of Amy Poehler made me laugh), and I enjoyed some of the surprise presenters (Daryll Hannah?! She looked fantastic! Mick Jagger?! I loved his quip from Bob Dylan to "find somebody younger"). Overall, I thought it was a fun show. 

2. The Winners - I know Anora became the front-runner after the DGA, PGA & WGA wins, but I was NOT expecting Sean Baker to walk away with four awards, nor was I expecting Mikey Madison to upset the Demi Moore sweep. While The Substance is my favorite movie of 2024, I really loved Anora too, so I have no complaints. Plus, it's an independent film & Sean Baker has made two other EXCELLENT films. I didn't realize that he edited this movie, too (and I loved his "I saved this film in the editing" line). Mikey is incredible in Anora, and she's proven her talent previously with Better Things. She's young, sure. And she's relatively new to the film world, but I appreciate that the Oscars, for once, seemed like they voted for the work in front of them instead of giving an award for a career (like with Jamie Lee Curtis a few years ago, and others). I knew I was going to hate whoever won for Best Actor because I hate three of those actors - Ralph sort of had a chance, and Colman was unfortunately a long-shot, but those other three....UGH. I knew it was going to Brody or Chalamet (Chamalet? I will never know which one is correct), and I have not seen either of their movies so I can't really comment, but I could tell you already that Brody was going to give the most grating speech of the night. I do think he's actually a terrific actor, but he's so fucking full of himself and he flat-out gives me the creeps (and I think those creepy feelings are warranted - if you're interested look up his obsession with his ex, Elsa Pataki. It's gross and CREEPY. Plus, dating Georgina Chapman doesn't help - that woman was married to a FUCKING MONSTER for like 15 years and she didn't know that he was abusing and harassing women in the industry? I don't believe that at all. She's totally complicit, I think). ANYWAY, I'm on a rant. Sorry! I'm annoyed with the Supporting winners because those are Lead performances, but WHATEVER. But I did love that they SPREAD THE LOVE! I think all of the Best Picture nominees won at least one award except A Complete Unknown and, unfortunately, Nickel Boys, right? That's pretty cool. It's so boring when one film sweeps everything. I do not think Flow is better than The Wild Robot, but it's cute and about a cat so I won't complain. 

3. The Fashion - I never in a million years thought that my favorite Oscar look would be Ariana Grande. It's the perfect dress for the movie she's nominated for, plus it's glamourous but interesting and modern. And I never in a million years thought that my second favorite Oscar look would be Selena Gomez. She usually dresses too old for her young age, but this was so stunning. The dress fit her so perfectly and it was old school Hollywood glamour. A few others that I liked - Meg Ryan looked great in that red velvet dress, Colman Domingo is always on point, and Isabella Rossellini gets a mention too for wearing blue velvet to honor David Lynch! Perfection! Everyone else kind of sucked. Either too boring - like Elle Fanning (she looked fine! I just wanted her in something younger and cooler), or really ill-fitting. Actually that was probably my biggest problem with a lot of dresses. Rachel Zegler's dress was way too tight on the top. Mikey's dress doesn't flatter her at all (although I love the nod to Audrey Hepburn). I love Timmy's yellow suit, but again, the fit was terrible. As far as worst dressed - Zoe's dress looked like a lampshade. But nobody really wore anything too terrible, which is a good thing, but also I like when people take chances with fashion! Break the rules! Wear short shorts like Kristen Stewart! 

Film Retrospective Part I: Thoughts on 10 Films (pre-1990)

1. Overboard - [rewatch] I'm so happy that my retrospective has made it into the 1980s because I can't wait to watch some of these classic 80s movies that I loved so much as a kid. This was my immediate first watch - it's one of my favorite movies ever and not because it's good, but because it's fun. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have the BEST chemistry. Yes, the plot is "icky", but it has a whole lot of heart so I can get past it. Also, it's kind of a loose remake of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. So obviously, he's in the wrong for basically kidnapping this woman and gaslighting her, but she did screw him out of $600, which is a lot of money for a single dad with 4 kids. The beginning is so over-the-top with her luxurious lifestyle, so it's such a strong contrast to how he lives - and his lifestyle feels real to me (as a kid who grew up partly in a trailer park, and partly in a rundown house in the middle of the desert). And once she wins the kids over and they start to bond, it just tugs at my heart strings so much - I literally get choked up EVERY TIME when the kid screams "you said moms don't leave!". The ending is so good too - especially when she reveals that it's all her money LOL. I just love it so much, and as a kid I thought Goldie Hawn was just the coolest (she's still pretty cool!). 

2. Black Christmas (1974) - [rewatch, apparently???] Ummmm....so I guess I watched this movie...recently?? I thought it was a blind spot, but then I went to log it in Letterboxd and I already had it logged as "watched" in March 2023??? That's so weird - I couldn't have watched it for my retrospective, because in 2023 I was watching films from before 1970. So I guess I watched it just to watch it, but I have absolutely no recollection of it. Maybe I logged it by accident thinking it was a different movie? Anyway, none of this seemed familiar. But, maybe because it's....super boring? Like, nothing really happens for most of it. Some scary phone calls? The calls are definitely creepy, I guess, but it gets old very quickly. I do appreciate the films that were obviously inspired by this (any modern day slasher, but especially Scream). Also, this is where "the calls are coming from inside the house" comes from, and that's pretty iconic! It's also got a great cast - Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey (whose death was announced while I was watching this! How creepy!), Andrea Martin, John Saxon. 

3. Christine (1983) - [blind spot] This has been on my list for a while, so I'm glad I'm finally watching it. It's John Carpenter and it's about a killer car based on a Stephen King story! Excellent. I'm actually surprised that there hasn't been a remake of this (yet). I had a lot of fun with it - it's basically a haunted car story as opposed to a haunted house, but cars are scarier because they can go fast! The acting is a little over-the-top. And the guy that plays Buddy looks like a wannabe John Travolta (which is weird because Travolta's late wife Kelly Preston is in this - she was someone else I loved as a kid - she was so beautiful - and I love the name "Kelly Preston" - so classy!). The whole bully thing is also way overdone - they are flat-out psychotic and would definitely be arrested for destroying a car like that. Also, I grew up in the 80s and we did not use abbreviations like that??? TTFM??? I was shocked by that? Maybe it's regional? Abbreviations didn't start until the late 90s from what I remember. Anyway, great movie! Loved it!

4. After Hours - [blind spot] Absolutely LOVED it. I can't believe I've never seen this before - it's so good. It's up there among my favorite Scorsese films (I don't have them ranked or anything because that would be daunting - but I guarantee my list would look a lot different that everyone else's. First of all, my number one would be The Departed). And, Scorsese gets a lot of shit for not making films with women - but this has incredible women in it: Teri Garr, Catherine O'Hara, Linda Fiorentino, Rosanna Arquette!!! The movie reminds me of Go, which is a movie that I LOVE - the way all this happens during one night (obviously the creators of Go were inspired by this, but I didn't know that as a teenager watching Go). Griffen Dunne is so good in this too - the audience just feels his exhaustion and frustration. It's also very funny - "is there a place open this late?", matter-of-factly "sure...it's not even 2 yet". And the sign "Dead Person" with an arrow made me laugh out loud. It definitely spirals into a little too much chaos at the end, but overall, I enjoyed this so much. 

5. Out of Africa - [blind spot] I could already tell that I was going to need to watch this in two parts, because it's an epic historical drama with a runtime of 2 hours and 40 minutes. I think breaking it up helped my enjoyment slightly, but overall, I found this very dull and boring. I do think if I had watched it in the 80s, as an adult, I might have liked it, but now it's so outdated and the white savior ending is cringe. Also, Meryl's accent???? How did she get nominated for an Oscar with that accent??? WOW. Also, I knew this was a big Oscar contender, but I didn't realize it WON the Oscar for Best Picture! EW. 

6. Gloria - [blind spot] Geena Rowlands was such a screen legend! I watched A Woman Under the Influence last year and I can't stop thinking about it. A performance of a lifetime, really. This performance is also very good. I love this character too - she's such a badass with that gun and up against these really scary men. But unfortunately, I didn't love this movie - and it's mostly because the kid is very annoying. His dialogue is so weird too - he definitely does not talk like a child instead he sounds like an 80 year old man. It's just awkward and not cute at all, and I kind of wished he died and Gloria could move on with her life (and I don't think that's the intent...haha!). Also, the saxophone in the film score needed to die too. It's just so overwhelming. 

7. The Fearless Vampire Killers - [blind spot] I definitely hesitate to watch a Roman Polanski movie, especially after reading more into the Manson murders and Sharon Tate's death (something doesn't add up and I think Polanski is far from innocent). But this has been on my list for a while and it was showing on TMC, so I guess it was time to cross it off. I don't really have anything good to say about this, though. It's very boring and way too long. I think it's supposed to be funny, but none of the jokes land. It's also very confusing and WHERE ARE THE VAMPIRES!!?? Also, I didn't realize that Polanski is IN this too - ewwww. But Sharon Tate was so beautiful. And there are a few cool shots, especially for a film from the 60s. I'll give it that. 

8. On Golden Pond - [blind spot] This is going to sound very dumb, but I didn't realize until watching this that Jane Fonda is Henry Fonda's daughter. LOL. I don't know how I didn't connect that, especially because they look so much alike (it's the eyes!). You may laugh, and say "but they have the same last name! DUH!", but Katherine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn were NOT related so THERE!!! I just never thought of Jane as a nepobaby - but once again, this proves that being a nepobaby is not necessarily a bad thing! I don't know why nepobabies get so upset about it. Anyway, Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda won the Oscar for lead performances for this movie, so I was excited to finally watch it. I also expected a boring drama, but was intrigued by the "comedy drama" description. It's a very sweet, but still very boring. I enjoyed Fonda and his old man grumpiness - his response to being asked if it's ok if the boyfriend sleeps in the same room as his daughter is hilarious. And I love the bond that forms with the young boy that stays with them for the summer. Hepburn is also great in this - it's one of her last big movies, but she still lived another 20 years! I love her so much. I think the whole daughter angle is weird though - she's got such mommy AND daddy issues, but they never really explain why? She's just angry for no apparent reason. Also, lots of shots of that pond, eh? 

9. Big Trouble in Little China - [rewatch] This is one of those 80s movies that has a fairly large cult following, but I never got into it. I was never really into martial arts movies, so that's a big part of it (I don't even really like The Karate Kid!! SHHHHH don't tell anyone). I do love Kurt Russell though - he's just so 80s. The muscle tee, the hair, the John Wayne accent for no apparent reason - it's all glorious. But the fight scenes are just not my thing - I hate how cheesy it looks and all the dramatic groaning noises always makes me laugh. I didn't realize that Kim Cattrall was the main woman! And Kate Burton is in this too??!! Overall, this is just not my thing. But I tried! 

10. To Live and Die in L.A. - [rewatch] I haven't watched this in well over 20 years and I'm kind of excited because I remember really liking it, but I don't remember much about it - other than some good car chase scenes and the grittiness of L.A. I actually forgot that this was a William Friedkin film. I don't always like his films, but some of them are incredible (Bug is one of my faves). I love the opening song (and it's the TITLE OF THE MOVIE!), and seeing all of these legendary actors so young (Willem Dafoe, John Turturro, etc., although I've never really been a fan of William Petersen. He really got stuck on those CSI shows that I also hated). Unfortunately, on this rewatch I was a little bit bored? I thought it was more action-packed. But it's slow and long and there is a scene that lasts like 20 minutes of Dafoe making counterfeit money and it just goes on and on just like this sentence. I like the vibe of it - it still definitely feels gritty and very 80s, but it's more of a drama than I was expecting.