Rate That Movie Part IV: Movies Never Sleep

[Buscemi2]

Ophelia 2/10

Can we stop adapting Hamlet? This pretentious muddle told from the perspective of Ophelia (who's a rather flat character with a seemingly unclear motive) combines the worst excesses of Jane Campion's films with the direction of a Twilight or Fifty Shades film. Almost every actor is miscast (Daisy Ridley looks more like Ginny Weasley while George MacKay is hopeless as Hamlet) and the droning score feels like some sort of fifth-rate Lilith Fair act. And for something that hopes to reinvent Shakespeare as some sort of progressive artist, it's played as straight as one can get when doing The Bard of Avon.

In short, a pointless film that makes the new Lion King look like Olivier or Branagh.

[Buscemi2]

The Farewell 7/10

Somewhat overhyped but enjoyable Chinese-American version of something Kore-eda would make. The film is at its best when it focuses on Awkwafina's character, a Brooklyn-based wizard of loneliness caught in a dilemma or whether or not to break the news of her grandmother's terminal illness. When it focuses on the family drama, it's not as strong and at times feels as if we've seen it all before in other, better films. The film makes a decent attempt and analyzes cultural differences but could have done a better job as it feels too safe at times in hopes of finding a mainstream audience (it was based on a This American Life segment, after all). Also, the bride is an extremely underdeveloped character and the wedding elements could have been ditched altogether.

I have a feeling this movie only got popular because of A24. Shoplifters is a better Asian film about family and that only grossed a fifth of this one. I'm not mad or anything. I just feel the film could have been better.

[Screen203]

Saw Luce yesterday. I still don't know what to think about it - there's just so much that the film is trying to say that the actual message is kind of muddled in the process. Acting is great, though, with the best performance Naomi Watts has given in a long time.

[Buscemi2]

Brian Banks 7/10

What begins as the narrative version of a 30 for 30 ends up becoming an interesting indictment of the legal system. There are moments that don't entirely work (such as having Aldis Hodge play Brian as a teenager as well as him in his twenties) but on the whole, it's a cut above many inspirational films with sports elements. What makes the film work is the California Innocence Project elements and just how broken the American court system is. The imprisonment of Banks was a miscarriage of justice and the film shows just how ridiculous his imprisonment was and how the real criminals get away scot-free. The film goes into detail about how the system can degrade someone but how one can fight back. The final product might not have had the same effect had a studio made it.

[numbersix]

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood: 5/10
Nope. From the reviews and word-of-mouth I was expecting something better than the turgid The Hateful 8, but this is just as indulgent and overlong. The qualities of this film (the charm of Brad Pitt, the surprising warmth of the core relationship) are outweighed by the problems. It's so long and there are so many unnecessary scenes that go on forever, such as Rick's time on the Western show (did we need to see him do half the episode? At the cinema half the audience went to the toilet and they missed nothing) or Rick hanging out with the Al Pacino character. I don't believe this is really a buddy film either (if so, it would have ended with Rick appreciating Cliff way more and going with him to the hospital, not instantly forgetting him to hang out with Sharon Tate). It's more a lament about the loss of a certain type of man - the quiet, dedicated, chivalrous tough guy that Cliff is. It's almost a conservative film.

QT's films have mostly worked because of either their stylish dialogue or their stylish action, but this doesn't have much of either. It also fails to surprise (I was expecting Cliff to die at the Spahn ranch forcing Rick to actually do something for his buddy), and predictably recreates Inglourious Basterds' rewriting of history, only here the climax is less effective.

The best I can say is that Brad Pitt shines as Cliff, with his natural old-school charisma. There are some witty details, just not nearly enough to justify its length. Even with QT's flawed films like Inglourious Bastrerds or Django there are great moments that you can return to, even if the whole is less than the sum of its parts, but not here. Another film from a great auteur that I'll never return to.

[Buscemi2]

The Art of Racing in the Rain 6/10

Marley and Me...with cars! It's no masterpiece but it's certainly better than those W. Bruce Cameron adaptations that replace dead humans with dead dogs. Kevin Costner does a better job voicing a dog than Josh Gad and even Milo Ventimiglia is decent as the dog's owner. The film kind of gets weird when it becomes a courtroom drama in the last third but it's still passable for its theme.

[Buscemi2]

Maiden 9/10

How is this story not more well-known? The story of the first all-female sailing team makes for a thrilling documentary with a relatable protagonist who defies all odds to create a competitive team and prove her doubters wrong. Even if you know absolutely nothing about sailing as a sport, you will get wrapped into the racing and just how much goes into it. There's also much more spirit and drive into showing the importance of respecting women and their accomplishments than say, a film like The Kitchen, which tried to do this and failed (by the way, watch a Hollywood version of Maiden happen in a few years that ends up being as safe and bland as possible so not to offend male audiences).

Tracy Edwards might be the most interesting and unlikely sports heroine we don't know about and this documentary does her a lot of justice.

[W]

Probably going to go to Matrix in Dolby and Good Boys tonight. Any reason why I should replace one of them with anything I haven't seen?:

Bennett's War
Overcomer
Bernadette
Dora
Killerman
After the Wedding
Art of Racing in the Rain
Extended Spidey (how much was added)
Extended Midsommar (how much was added)
Don't Let Go

[transformers2]

Nah, I'd say you're making the right choices

[W]

So, umm... just got out of Where’d You Go Bernadette and something very weird happened. I was the only one in the theater, five minutes of the movie in and the lights were still on. I get up to let staff know and when I get back to the theater a lady is in there. She is sitting in my seat eating my M&Ms and drinking my drink. “Oh, I thought someone just left this.”

What the Hell? Who does this and who has anyone had a nuttier story?

[Buscemi2]

I remember once reading a story like that on The AV Club, except the author was the person who took someone else's concessions.

Personally, I can't think of anything nuttier than the guy taking pictures of the screen during the movie. Same guy, same theatre, three times in the span of three months.

[Chienfantome]

You're story is almost creepy, W.

[Screen203]

What the Hell? Who does this and who has anyone had a nuttier story?

There was that guy who sounded like he was cumming every ten minutes at Shape Of Water...

And earlier this year when I saw Us the theater had just gotten reserved seating and everyone had the wrong seat

[numbersix]

Not nuttier but the strangest cinema experience I had was watching The Conjuring 2 in a massive cinema when I was completely alone, freaking out because the event it was based on, the Enfeld hauntings, is not too far from where I lived.

[Buscemi2]

The Peanut Butter Falcon 9/10

Charming dramedy that combines elements of Mark Twain, Jeff Nichols' Mud, and Aronofsky's The Wrestler, focusing on a twentysomething with Down syndrome that escapes a group home and teams up with a fisherman on the lam to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. The film wisely avoids the cliches of the modern indie film by not trying for style but rather a meaningful story of two opposites banding together to go on a journey. The film is well-cast, crowd-pleasing, and has a lot of positive vibes in a cinema field that's been lacking those lately. It's also perhaps the best the Southeast has looked on film in a while.