"The Florida Project."
I loved the new Jadine movie NEVER NOT LOVE YOU. Wasn't initially convinced the ending was the best fit, but more and more grew to see it as an excellent editorial, narrative, stylistic choice. The lighting, the mood setting, the establishment of atmosphere in this movie was marvelous. And the bent towards silence I really loved, how this film made mumblecore very Filipino. Antoinette Jadaone's focus on intimacy really shone through, which reminded me: Finally a Jadaone movie that deserves a spot alongside "That Thing Called Tadhana," especially after her string of not-so-great work including "You're My Boss" and "Love Me to the Stars and Back" (yeah, shoot me on that second one).
How indelible is James Franco in THE DISASTER ARTIST? I started watching the movie, but felt sleepy at around the 50-minute mark, so decided to take a nap. And then I continued the movie in my dream, Franco's performance all accurate in it. His performance, in fact, makes the movie, which I'm still not convinced deserved all those spots it snagged in those best-of-the-year lists.
Now that I've seen THE POST, I can finally say I've seen all of this year's Oscars Best Actress nominees, and that Meryl Streep would have been a totally deserving winner for this sublime, understated performance. Look at her, turning defeat and insecurity into power, word by word, gesture by gesture. Surprisingly there was no Steven Spielberg-ian--a.k.a. very, very sentimental--ending, but many sequences throughout this film caught me unawares and had me in tears. Reminded me why once upon a time I dreamed of becoming an ace journalist. Many sequences, however, also felt too directed: the block-y movement, the too-neat editing, the scoring, Carrie Coon's moment with the telephone, even Sarah Paulson's speech.
Richard Brody said THE FLORIDA PROJECT is as artificial as the magical kingdom it contrasts with its realist story. Anthony Lane praised the movie, on the other hand. Me, I thought the kid was too much--I mean, she's good, the actress, but the kid character, goodness, if that kid crossed my path, I'd attack her. The mothers, though, were really what pulled me into the story. Poverty in America isn't at all like poverty in the Philippines. Over there you get to live in motels, eat waffles and ice cream, have a tub to bathe in--and still be poor. Not quite sure about the ending, though. On the one hand, I thought it maintained that child's-perspective story by giving it a child's-perspective quasi-resolution. On the other hand, just felt like a cop out.
I've always rooted for Jessica Chastain ever since I "discovered" her back in the summer of 2012, not long after her grand breakthrough moment with "The Tree of Life," "The Help" and "Take Shelter." I still believe she was robbed of the Oscar for "Zero Dark Thirty" (good riddance, J-Law), and that she should have had a third nomination for "A Most Violent Year." But MOLLY'S GAME is just "Miss Sloane" part deux, and we all know what a hot mess that was. "Molly's Game" is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, and I don't know if that explains why the movie is so loud, so verbose, so in-your-face talkative. Many times I wanted the voice-over to just shut down because it's violating the "show, don't tell" rule. Thank goodness Chastain didn't squeak past Meryl at the Oscars, because then I would have surprised myself crying foul over the injustice of it all. Chastain needs better, fresher roles now. (God, can't believe I just typed that.) And the nerve of this movie to drag Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" into the fore.
Richard Brody said THE FLORIDA PROJECT is as artificial as the magical kingdom it contrasts with its realist story. Anthony Lane praised the movie, on the other hand. Me, I thought the kid was too much--I mean, she's good, the actress, but the kid character, goodness, if that kid crossed my path, I'd attack her. The mothers, though, were really what pulled me into the story. Poverty in America isn't at all like poverty in the Philippines. Over there you get to live in motels, eat waffles and ice cream, have a tub to bathe in--and still be poor. Not quite sure about the ending, though. On the one hand, I thought it maintained that child's-perspective story by giving it a child's-perspective quasi-resolution. On the other hand, just felt like a cop out.
I've always rooted for Jessica Chastain ever since I "discovered" her back in the summer of 2012, not long after her grand breakthrough moment with "The Tree of Life," "The Help" and "Take Shelter." I still believe she was robbed of the Oscar for "Zero Dark Thirty" (good riddance, J-Law), and that she should have had a third nomination for "A Most Violent Year." But MOLLY'S GAME is just "Miss Sloane" part deux, and we all know what a hot mess that was. "Molly's Game" is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, and I don't know if that explains why the movie is so loud, so verbose, so in-your-face talkative. Many times I wanted the voice-over to just shut down because it's violating the "show, don't tell" rule. Thank goodness Chastain didn't squeak past Meryl at the Oscars, because then I would have surprised myself crying foul over the injustice of it all. Chastain needs better, fresher roles now. (God, can't believe I just typed that.) And the nerve of this movie to drag Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" into the fore.
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