"Isle of Dogs."
So let me just rank the most recent Erik Matti films in order. Number one, by a mile, is his Iglesia-ni-Cristo parable "Honor Thy Father." Then a far number two is "On the Job," minus points for all the times it couldn't help being Star Cinema-ish. Lightyears below, down there, is the bamboozling "Seklusyon." And in between, just a little below "On the Job," is the newly released and much-lauded BUYBUST, which stars Anne Curtis in arguably top form.
I realize films like "BuyBust" are the ones I really react to on a genuinely visceral level--the kind that skirts just beneath perfection, the kind that, through a couple of missteps, ends up a lesser film. I don't agree with all the noise online, praising it like it's a seamless masterpiece. It's not. There are contrivances that weaken the story, one appearing as early as thirty minutes into the movie. There's a final act--and a final line--that's clumsily handled in the spirit of "message." And there are moments when the filmmaker's emotions get in the way of the story itself.
Make no mistake, however, the film is a scathing indictment of our times. I do agree that the fight scenes are too many and too long to the point of being redundant, but sizing them up against the whole work, it all makes sense. It's poor-against-poor madness rendered so convincingly, you'd have to be heartless not to be infuriated. The people in government, and especially the 1% who run this country, ought to see this film, but then I don't think they're the type who'd watch movies of a certain IQ level such as this.
I only got around to seeing the classic musical film MARY POPPINS recently. And I must say, it is a rather pointless story. Julie Andrews is the only thing that keeps the whole thing worth plodding through. Can somebody explain its appeal to me? Is this a parable on the dangers of drug use because, you know, these people be tripping and flying and seeing colors and worlds and stuff?
The sex comedy BLOCKERS makes me thankful I wasn't born at a time when social media is front and center of life (a.k.a. now). Watching it, I found myself wondering, "This is how they do prom now?" Like with Facebook messages and cellphones and videos and stuff everywhere. I kind of thought this was maybe "Superbad" for the 2010s high school crowd or something. Anyway, Leslie Mann in this movie--poignant, career-high work, if you ask me. What an underrated actress.
Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was marvelous, delicious, eye-popping cinema. His newest film, the Berlinale winner ISLE OF DOGS, is also a visual feast (the stop motion is superb). But I'm not even going to get into that whole cultural appropriation discussion. I'm just here to say that this movie eventually felt like something I needed to get through, instead of something I wanted to drown myself in. Not bad Anderson, but also, for me, not worth storing in a limited-space hard drive.
Last night I finished the first season of HBO's SUCCESSION. This will be my new answer to people who ask me for viewing recommendations, probably with the same level of passion and aggression with which I promote Donna Tartt's literary masterpiece "The Secret History" to any willing ear. I loved the whole thing from start to finish. Brilliant, brilliant television. Well, not really the entirety. I thought episode 9 was its weakest--the one where you really felt the writer just setting things up and making people run into each other just so they could have shady conversations. The ending, too, I initially felt ambiguous about, but then in retrospect, I realized what genius it was. Jeremy Strong's performance--especially his entire arc in the finale--is a shoo-in for an Emmy next year. Kieran Culkin and Matthew MacFayden, too, as the family idiots. Also, episode 6--the one where Jeremy Strong's character tries and embarrassingly fails to stage a coup against his father (Brian Cox, making superhuman recovery from a hemorrhagic stroke)--is one of those episodes I will always remember, alongside "Hardhome" from "Game of Thrones," "The Animals" from "Orange Is the New Black," "Beryl" from "The Crown," "Teddy Perkins" from "Atlanta," "Halloween" from the second season of "Modern Family" (yep, it used to be able to produce excellence), etc. Also, J. Smith-Cameron liked my tweet about this, just so you know. Am aware I'm not being very coherent right now. Basta, watch this!
Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was marvelous, delicious, eye-popping cinema. His newest film, the Berlinale winner ISLE OF DOGS, is also a visual feast (the stop motion is superb). But I'm not even going to get into that whole cultural appropriation discussion. I'm just here to say that this movie eventually felt like something I needed to get through, instead of something I wanted to drown myself in. Not bad Anderson, but also, for me, not worth storing in a limited-space hard drive.
Last night I finished the first season of HBO's SUCCESSION. This will be my new answer to people who ask me for viewing recommendations, probably with the same level of passion and aggression with which I promote Donna Tartt's literary masterpiece "The Secret History" to any willing ear. I loved the whole thing from start to finish. Brilliant, brilliant television. Well, not really the entirety. I thought episode 9 was its weakest--the one where you really felt the writer just setting things up and making people run into each other just so they could have shady conversations. The ending, too, I initially felt ambiguous about, but then in retrospect, I realized what genius it was. Jeremy Strong's performance--especially his entire arc in the finale--is a shoo-in for an Emmy next year. Kieran Culkin and Matthew MacFayden, too, as the family idiots. Also, episode 6--the one where Jeremy Strong's character tries and embarrassingly fails to stage a coup against his father (Brian Cox, making superhuman recovery from a hemorrhagic stroke)--is one of those episodes I will always remember, alongside "Hardhome" from "Game of Thrones," "The Animals" from "Orange Is the New Black," "Beryl" from "The Crown," "Teddy Perkins" from "Atlanta," "Halloween" from the second season of "Modern Family" (yep, it used to be able to produce excellence), etc. Also, J. Smith-Cameron liked my tweet about this, just so you know. Am aware I'm not being very coherent right now. Basta, watch this!
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