Malcolm1980's 2017 Movie Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

1/1

Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade) **** - My first official new film of 2017. After losing his dog, a prank-loving music teacher decides to get closer to his ambitious, stuck-up daughter by intruding upon her professional life as a life coach named Toni Erdmann. This film is close to three hours long and I honestly felt it flew by after I got used to the characters. I honestly wasn't sure where this film was gonna go. I've heard so much from so many people about this. It gradually won me over, kind of like the title character. When it is a comedy, it is hysterical. Then the emotional component just sneak up on you in the end. It is one of the best films of the year (2016).

[malcolm1980]

1/2

Silence (Masahiro Shinoda) ***1/2 - Before I see the Martin Scorsese version of the historical fiction novel, I thought I'd check out the 1971 Japanese version which this is. It's about two Portuguese Jesuit priests who are missionaries in Japan (where Christianity is banned) and they're looking for their mentor who is said to have renounced his faith under torture. The original author co-wrote the screenplay so I'm guessing this is a bit more faithful. The film itself falls a wee bit short of masterpiece status (the performance of the lead Caucasian actor playing the priest could have been a bit stronger) but it's a solid drama that will give you something to think about in terms of religious faith, Western colonization, etc. Though not particularly graphic, the torture scenes were pretty harrowing. I can't wait to see what Scorsese did with this.

[malcolm1980]

1/3

The Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman) ***1/2 - A Satan-worshipping prince throws a lavish, debauched party while awaiting the coming of a plague known as the Red Death. Among the Vincent Price-Roger Corman cinematic adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's works, I think this is the best, well, it's my personal favorite among those I've seen at least. All throughout the film, there's a genuinely creepy and at times disturbing atmosphere. Vincent Price's performance is terrific. He makes what, on paper, may have been an over-the-top one-dimensional evil villain, rather believable with some layers...so much so that he will make you almost be on his side. Definitely one to check out.

[malcolm1980]

1/4

Audition (Takashi Miike) **1/2 - Years after the death of his wife, a man decides to start dating again. So he decides to use his agency to "audition" girls to be his girlfriend. He finds himself drawn to one particular woman who has a very dark past to say the least and he's in for a world of trouble. The one sub-genre of film I don't particularly like and actively avoid is the torture porn/splatter horror film. This one is widely regarded to be one of the "must-sees" of the sub-genre. It merely confirms my feeling towards it. I personally have nothing against it. (If this is your thing, have at it). I have no objections to violence and gore. But objectively, the film is an effective one. You will cringe at the torture scene and be grossed out by a few others. But it all feels pointless.

[malcolm1980]

1/5

BUtterfield 8 (Daniel Mann) ** - This is a film that focuses on a tragic affair between a "slut of all time" and a married man. Elizabeth Taylor famously won her first Best Actress Oscar for this film because she was seriously ill at the time and almost died so this was pretty much a "pity" Oscar....and I would agree with that assessment. She wasn't very good in this film. I can't completely blame her. The script was kind of lame. The film may have seemed edgy at the time is now laughably dated. It did not age well at all. It's slickly made and it looked nice but that's all it has going for it.

[malcolm1980]

1/6

I'm Not There. (Todd Haynes) ***1/2 - I thought about finally seeing this film after it was announced Bob Dylan was getting the Nobel Prize for Literature. This is director Todd Haynes' rather unconventional musical biopic of Bob Dylan where each facet and phase of his life and works are each represented by a different actor (including ones played by an African-American boy and a woman). I know of Bob Dylan. I'm aware of his reputation. I know a couple of his songs but I don't know much beyond what you can peruse on Wikipedia but you don't need to be hardcore Bob Dylan to appreciate this fascinating take on his life and works. The ensemble cast of actors are great especially Cate Blanchett who is truly transformative as "Jude". The whole concept of having different actors play different parts of Dylan's life may sound pretentious and gimmicky at first but it actually beautifully works when you see it. A terrific film. Great soundtrack too.

[malcolm1980]

1/7


Sing (Garth Jennings) *** - A theater manager/owner at the end of his ropes decides to save his theater by holding a singing competition. It attracts a disparate group of underdogs who just want to make their dreams come true. And they're all animals. This animated feature film's plot is pure formula and almost shamelessly so. In fact, if it weren't a 3D animated feature film where the characters are all animals, it would've been laughed off and dismissed. But the film has a few laughs and it is overall pretty entertaining. You'd think you'd get tired of seeing animals cover well-known pop songs. Well, you do but you'll tolerate it enough since they got actors who can actually sing. It's cute. Kids will love it. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Last Man on Earth (Sidney Salkow) ***1/2 - A scientist seems to be the only survivor of a plague that wiped out the rest of humanity and turned a lot of them into vampire-like creatures. Well, I have to say Vincent Price is no Will Smith and I mean that as a positive in this case. This is a rather effective, scary and thought-provoking science fiction horror film based on the Richard Matheson novel which influenced pretty much an entire sub-genre of post-apocalyptic science fiction and horror including the zombie craze. As I mentioned, Vincent Price is terrific.

[malcolm1980]

1/8


American Honey (Andrea Arnold) **** - A teenager at the end of her ropes joins a group of young people who go around selling magazine subscriptions who also get drunk and party hard. People who love this really love this and people who hate this, often really hate it. I consider myself in the former group. This is a superb film from director Andrea Arnold. It's over two and a half hours but, honestly, I didn't feel it much. This is a superb snapshot on the lives of misfit, wayward youth, just going from place to place with very little promise for the future. You find yourself relating to it, oddly enough, no matter where your lot in life would be. It features a superb ensemble, including newcomer Sasha Lane who I hope to see in more stuff soon. Shia LaBeouf probably gives his career-best performance in this film. Color me truly impressed. The soundtrack is pretty great and the cinematography is quite beautiful.

[malcolm1980]

1/9

Swiss Army Man (Daniel Kwan/Daniel Scheinert) *** - Lots of Daniels involved in this movie. A young man marooned on a deserted island is about to kill himself then he finds a very flatulent corpse washed up ashore and forms a relationship with it. Regardless of what your opinion on this film will be, you HAVE to give it points for sheer originality and audacity to make such a film. But a concept like this runs the risk of being potentially overly and irritatingly quirky and/or unbearably pretentious (a word I personally try to avoid using as much as possible). Yes, I think borders on those qualities a few times. But I think it largely worked. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe give such beautiful, committed performances that they straight up sold it. It's funny. It's oddly moving at points. It dropped the ball a bit on the ending but overall, it's worth a watch.

[malcolm1980]

1/11

The Soft Skin (Francois Truffaut) **** - A famous writer cheats on his wife with a stewardess. Yeah, the plot sounds kind of generic. There have been so many films about marital infidelity and adultery and its consequences, etc. Why is this so special? Because it's pretty great and one of the best films on the subject. Director Francois Truffaut pulls this off by never judging his characters. He neither condemns nor romanticizes their actions and in so doing, making their actions understandable but never forgetting its potentialLY tragic consequences and all the while never descending into soapy melodrama. It's beautifully written and acted. Nelly Benedetti is unforgettable as the cheated on wife. Definitely one of the best films of 1964.