Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

[transformers2]

Run 3/10
Aneesh Chaganty's follow-up to Searching is the rare "psychological thriller" that brings nothing to the table except idiocy and unintentional comedy. Chaganty displays no feel for the material as he starts piling on boneheaded twists/narrative contrivances around the halfway mark that propels the story forward at an absurd clip after a VERY slow start until it arrives at a preposterous conclusion that spawns perhaps the most gut-bustlingly funny scene of 2020 and the acting from both newcomer Kiera Allen and the typically great Sarah Paulson fails to convince. Even with the potential stinker Songbird set for release next week, it's going to take some monumental ineptitude for anything released for the rest of the year to top the jaw-dropping stupidity that drives this stunningly hacky film.

Hillbilly Elegy 7.5/10
While it's not my favorite performance by either Amy Adams or Glenn Close, this might be the biggest impact the quality of their acting has ever had on the final product. They bring a sense of passion, gravitas and emotional honesty that keeps this otherwise pretty vanilla, soapy melodrama compelling as it works its way through a troubled upbringing narrative (abuse, addiction, death, bad behavior, etc.) that's been done a million times before. Even though this likely won't be the film that delivers either of them the Oscars that have long alluded them, they're more than deserving of nominations for the sincere magic they worked to elevate this project beyond the depths of mediocrity.

Happiest Season 7.5/10
The first mainstream romantic comedy to feature gay protagonists delivers on its unspoken promise to be a minor film that makes a major impact on a long underrepresented community. The efficient script does a good job of weaving its messages about the struggles LGBTQ people can face when approaching coming out to their family into an otherwise proudly cheesy, warmhearted holiday movie and the ensemble cast-anchored by standouts Kristen Stewart, Mary Holland, Mary Steenburgen, Dan Levy and Aubrey Plaza-hit the right funny, charming notes. Should have no problem finding its way into a lot of people's annual Christmas viewing rotation.

[Buscemi2]

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 8/10

Appealing adaptation of the August Wilson play that is elevated by Chadwick Boseman's electrifying final performance as a trumpeter who along with a group of session musicians are tasked to cut a demo with the famous Ma Rainey in Chicago in 1927. Soon, tensions flair between the performers, the producers, and each other, leading to a breaking point among our characters. The stage origins are pretty obvious but the trappings create a strong character piece and some really beautiful visual appeal. Viola Davis also does well as Rainey but it's Boseman that holds the film together and I honestly would not be surprised to see him win a posthumous Oscar. It's a very good swan song for him.

[Buscemi2]

Rewind 9/10

This was a difficult review to write due to the film's subject matter but this is easily the bravest documentary of 2020. Using home movies and testimony to tell the story, this one focuses on the director and the abuse that he endured from his uncles and cousin as a child. The end result is a scary and powerful account about a child and when he develops the courage to fight back. It is also a much superior crime documentary than the more popular American Murder: The Family Next Door, which used similar techniques. Had this gotten released traditionally, it might have been the breakout documentary of the year but if you've got Prime, give it a go.

[Buscemi2]

Ava 3/10

Boring and generic thriller that establishes the star's biggest issue with her flailing career: her inability to work with directors outside of her comfort zone. Had this gotten a capable director that would have gotten the project outside of its John Wick/Haywire trappings, maybe this would have been entertaining. But since Chastain chose to work with a director that had never done action before simply because she'd worked with him before, we get something that has very cliche action scenes that are darkly lit to where you can hardly see our star kicking ass, which was what I'm sure was intended. Also, the family drama material does not mesh well and ends up wasting the film's best performance in Geena Davis.

In the end, it's all material we've seen before and even without the controversy involving the film's screenwriter, would have been barely released two years after being finished. Just watch Haywire again.

[Buscemi2]

Friendsgiving 3/10

Another boring, long-on-the-shelf film viewed by yours truly. This is the kind of film where there seems to be an idea and the cast has fun making it (as noted by the film's end credit outtakes), but viewing it is another story. This is pretty much a party with people you would hate being around and ask yourself why you are there. The characters are a series of 2018 cliches and the situations are not interesting. The end result made me wish that Kat Dennings (the only reason I gave the film a chance) got better scripts than this one.

[Buscemi2]

The High Note 3/10

If you've seen Late Night, you've already seen this movie. Next.

[numbersix]

Saint Frances: 5/10
Despite the critical acclaim this is really just another Sundancey film - a dramedy that doesn't quite work as a drama and doesn't quite work as a comedy. The much discussed period humour is the only thing that makes it stand out, but beyond that it's fairly predictable and tame.

Slalom: 5/10
A well-performed but dreary film about a teenage girl with ambitious to become a champion skiier, only to be seduced by her trainer. The film does try to show the nuance as the teen develops her secret crush on the guy, but it's hard not to walk out of the film with a pretty defiite sense of who was in the wrong. And that makes for a grim tale of abuse that doesn't quite feel distinct or necessary.

Mank: 5/10
What is the point of trying to make a film about Citizen Kane feel like Citizen Kane by using modern digital trickery? There is something so pointless about shooting on digital and spending millions of fake film grain and fake cue marks (used way more amusingly in Fight Club, I may add). Kane was so progressive, so transformative, that the idea of this homage feels like an insult. Welles would be rollinghis eyes at this. As for the story, it's 90% studio references and quotes, and 10% about the actual story (which seems to be about Mankiewicz writing Kane because of what Hearst did to politics and in turn one of Mankiewicz's friends), which only comes into play about an hour in. So many of my friends turned this film off half-way, and I can understand why.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: 6/10
We'll all remember this as Chadwick Boseman's last role. And while he gives a great performance, it's a little too OTT - which is excusable when some of the monologues regarding death and legacy would hit home. But for me what worked better was Viola Davis's performance of the terrifying Ma, because in many scenes she underplays it, making her more nuanced and interested. The story itself is good if somewhat throwaway, but it's definitely worth a watch.

White Riot: 6/10
Solid if light doc about a movement coming out of the punk movement that was anti-racist. Which was important considering the extreme nationalist movement that was hitting Britain in the 1970s. This focuses on the organisation's attempt to host a music festival of protest in one of London's most racist burrough's (which turns out to be the one I currently live in). The music is great and the story is nice.

Ammonite: 5/10
It's very simple: go watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire instead.

Wolfwalkers: 7/10
While not as strong as Song of the Sea, this is still a fun and imaginative story fromt he same animation studio. Here, a young British girl living in Medieval, occupied Ireland befriends a froest girl who turns out to be half-wolf, the very thing her father is hunting. It looks great and it's very enjoyable, but could have used a bit more gravitas.

Audrey: More than an Icon: 4/10
A poor doc about Audrey Hepburn, that breezes through her life without much psychological depth

Dick Johnson is Dead: 7/10
A great Netflix doc about a film-maker who, knowing her father will die soon, stages ways in which he will die in order to process it. Her father is such a great person, so full of wit and empathy, which makes it hard to watch as we see that part of him disappear at times. The film balances the funny and the heart-breaking very well.

[Buscemi2]

The hilarious thing about Mank is how big of a flop it's been for Netflix. It peaked at Number 10 in its first day and got knocked out of the Top 10 by, wait for it...Little Nicky. Yes, the 2000 film where Adam Sandler plays Satan's son.

Maybe Fincher will stop trying to chase Oscar glory and make a good movie again. I watched Seven again last week. What happened to that David Fincher?

Meanwhile, I really want to see Tomm Moore make a live-action film. Imagine all of the split-screen and split-diopter shots he'd use.

[numbersix]

Tell me about it.

My theory is that Fincher is the new Ridley Scott - a talented film-maker only when the script is good. When it's not he doesn't have the ability to make it work.

Fincher's last great film was Zodiac, 13 years ago

[Buscemi2]

I've compared him to Ron Howard but Scott is apt too (though Scott has his fans who refuse to admit that he should have hung it up long ago).

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Fincher's last great film was Zodiac, 13 years ago

Me after reading this:
https://media.giphy.com/media/RMiJtgz9C ... /giphy.gif

[transformers2]

Fincher's last great film was Zodiac, 13 years ago

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Buscemi2]

Fincher just makes soulless Oscar bait nowadays. It's as if he forgot to make anything that pleases himself once he saw the opening weekend take of Zodiac and decided that he needed to become something one step above a hack.

Taika Waititi and Denis Villeneuve are the same. In a similar example, they made their best movies in their native countries and now in Hollywood, they make films that are no different than typical American product.

[numbersix]

Boosch, I was with ya on Fincher, but I'm definitely not going there with Waititi (I think he's unproven in some ways - I was disappointed by Jojo but he did a fine job with Thor 3, it just wasn't my thing) and definitely not Villeneuve (Sicario and Arrival are genius, and I'm hoping BR2046 was a blip due to feeling too indebted to the original)

[Buscemi2]

The Tax Collector 1/10

The laziest movie of 2020. One-dimensional stereotypes, an almost non-existent plot, and typical David Ayer cliches make up the whole of this film, which is less a movie and more a hoodie of Pablo Escobar you get from a mall kiosk committed to the screen. There is nothing original about it and the reason why it exists seems to be a 95 minute kiss goodbye to the careers of everyone involved. Did anyone actually think this was going to be a good, thought-provoking crime drama? Well, they might be more delusional than I was when I checked it out at the library, thinking it might be better than the 4.7 IMDb rating? That score is generous.

Avoid. Bright was better than this.