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wishfulclickingBaby Driver really honed in on how some things can be done well and still repel. The strongest part of that film was the opening heist scene and it goes down from there, with Lily James being a bright spot in a role her personal charisma elevates. I could see what Wright was doing; and I always try to appreciate films that do ~different things, but the ending court room scene was just too much. I don't know if Jon Hamm was both cursed and blessed from Mad Men, because I have rarely seen him translate that well to movies; or, perhaps, I just couldn't buy his last turn, while I love him in smaller comedic roles like he did in Bridesmaids.
At first, Mind the Gap seemed like a doc following 25 and under young men who used skating as an outlet in an once booming industrial town; it exists buoyed on a lot of unsaid things that are later explicitly said, but it doesn't go to a higher level until it addresses the cycle of abuse, the weight of family, once the director puts himself in the spotlight. The scene going from his mother saying she hopes he can let go of the past with tears in her eyes, the voiceover of the older, loserish guy saying he has created his own problems was just perfect. That said, I am surprised it was Oscar nominated, but I do rec it.
Support the Girls strength is Regina Hall and the supporting actresses that end up on the roof with her, and the film knows it. Hall deserves all the accolades, but besides that, the film is just good.
Bad Times at the El Royale solidified my belief that Chris Hemsworth does menacing charm extremely well (see: Rush), Cynthia Erivo is a star with killer pipes, and there's something about Jon Hamm in roles that aren't comedy that make me think of Mad Men too much. As much as I enjoy Hemsworth everything, the arrival of the cult was the beginning of the film's lower points as well, or maybe the resolution just didn't land.
Edge of Seventeen Hailee Steinfield is super good in this, and her interactions with Woody Harrelson is fantastic (even if he is playing a version of his public persona but it works). I just couldn't buy her and the brother coming from the same family, and when they had their big emotional moment towards the end, it felt not fully realized.
At first, Mind the Gap seemed like a doc following 25 and under young men who used skating as an outlet in an once booming industrial town; it exists buoyed on a lot of unsaid things that are later explicitly said, but it doesn't go to a higher level until it addresses the cycle of abuse, the weight of family, once the director puts himself in the spotlight. The scene going from his mother saying she hopes he can let go of the past with tears in her eyes, the voiceover of the older, loserish guy saying he has created his own problems was just perfect. That said, I am surprised it was Oscar nominated, but I do rec it.
Support the Girls strength is Regina Hall and the supporting actresses that end up on the roof with her, and the film knows it. Hall deserves all the accolades, but besides that, the film is just good.
Bad Times at the El Royale solidified my belief that Chris Hemsworth does menacing charm extremely well (see: Rush), Cynthia Erivo is a star with killer pipes, and there's something about Jon Hamm in roles that aren't comedy that make me think of Mad Men too much. As much as I enjoy Hemsworth everything, the arrival of the cult was the beginning of the film's lower points as well, or maybe the resolution just didn't land.
Edge of Seventeen Hailee Steinfield is super good in this, and her interactions with Woody Harrelson is fantastic (even if he is playing a version of his public persona but it works). I just couldn't buy her and the brother coming from the same family, and when they had their big emotional moment towards the end, it felt not fully realized.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-28 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-01-28 10:30 am (UTC)But, yeah, I remember listening to NPR pop culture happy hour talk about the ending and internally going 'it can't be that bad' but it actually was. If that movie ended with them holding hands at the standoff and him being arrested it would have been so much better.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-29 09:46 am (UTC)I still check in here pretty regularly though I don't post much anymore - I will anticipate your watching and reading lists!!