Malcolm1980's 2017 Movie Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

12/29

Body and Soul (Oscar Micheaux) ***1/2 - A escaped convict poses as a pastor in an all-black church. He then robs and exploits the daughter of one of the members of his congregation. I saw this as part of Netflix's Pioneers of African-American Cinema series which I encourage anyone who's reading and has a Netflix subscription to check out. I would love it if Netflix would add more of this type of content to their catalog. Well, anyway, this is my second foray into the films of pioneering African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, the first one being Within Our Gates which, sadly I'm not a big fan of. But I'm pleased to say I think this is a much, much better film. It's a truly compelling and pretty daring drama both thematically and formally. It tackles rape, religious hypocrisy and features an ambiguous ending. That's pretty groundbreaking stuff that rivals the films of Erich Von Stroheim and King Vidor in roughly the same era. I highly recommend this.

[malcolm1980]

12/30

Ang Larawan (Loy Arcenas) *** - Based on the Filipino National Artist Nick Joaquin play, A Portrait of an Artist as a Filipino and also based on the stage musical based on the play, this is about two spinster sisters and the final painting of their artist father, the titular Portrait. It's just before World War II and they've hit financial difficulty but they refuse to sell their sick father's final work, as per his request. Let's start with the positives: The acting is outstanding. Everyone here is at their A-game. They sing and act beautifully. The ensemble that comprises of lots of respected veteran Filipino character actors and singers in bit parts were fun. The score is strong. The period detail is on point. Unfortunately, this suffers from rather stage-y, flat direction. The point and shoot type. This material calls for someone who can direct in a more dynamic manner. It's set largely in one location so they could have had more fun with the cinematic transfer. I sat there thinking how I would block , stage and choreograph a particular scene. But with this flaw, it's still a well-meaning passionate work and must be see by Filipinos.

Chasing Coral (Jeff Orlowski) **1/2 - This is the sequel of sorts to Chasing Ice. This time around scientists and filmmakers are documenting the worldwide phenomenon of coral bleaching which is an unfortunate consequence of climate change. Okay, my heart is absolutely with the filmmakers on this. I agree with their message and in my own small way, I do try my best to do my part on it. However, I'm here to assess this film as a piece of art and whether or not it works as such. For that, I say, it's fine. It doesn't really say anything that I don't already know and don't already believe. There are some great underwater cinematography but not enough make me excited about this as a film. It feels like preaching to the choir.

The Blood of Jesus (Spencer Williams) *** - My journey through the Pioneers of African American Cinema continues with this film with a new director I've never heard of named Spencer Williams. This one is about a newly baptized and newly wed young woman who wishes her non-believer husband would find religion. This is an explicitly religious and Christian film (though not one modern day American evangelicals will like) and I have to say it does get heavy-handed with the religiosity. I will give it credit for making an effort to be unpredictable. You think this is going one way and it goes on a whole other direction. It's no masterpiece but its heart is in the place.

[malcolm1980]

12/31

Deadma Walking (Julius Alonso) *** - A young gay man is diagnosed with terminal cancer. As one of his final wishes, he asks his platonic gay best friend to hold his funeral for him in advance. This is surprisingly pretty good. It's a bit reminiscent of the previous year's Metro Manila Film Festival Die Beautiful. (Are we going to have a sub-genre of dramedies about gays dying with Eugene Domingo in a special role? Gosh, I hope not). You know, for a film that has got genuinely laugh out loud moments, it is essentially a rather sad film (even sadder and more tragic than Die Beautiful). It mostly juggles the comedy and the drama fairly well, a very tricky thing to do. The performances are pretty good with fun cameos from Filipino celebrities making the most out of their limited time on-screen. (Doesn't Carmi Martin ever age?)

Easy Living (Mitchell Leisen) ***1/2 - A rich banker throws his spendthrift wife expensive fur coat out the balcony and lands on a financially challenged young woman and thus begins the hilarious complications. I don't know why I missed this film. The screenplay is by Preston Sturges and it is one of the quintessential screwball comedies of the 1930's. It is quite simply, utterly delightful. It is often very funny. The ensemble cast headed by Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold and Ray Milland are all fantastic. It's guaranteed to leave you smiling. This is a film that should not be overlooked when looking for classics of its genre.

Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig) **** - This is a coming-of-age tale of a rebellious, angst-y teenage girl from Sacramento who goes to a Catholic School but wanting to go to the East Coast to a liberal arts college. Oh, I loved this movie. Yes, it does hit on the many, many tropes of lots of coming-of-age films but it does so very, very well. Writer-director Greta Gerwig crafts a beautiful, very lived-in, even personal work which feels alive and real in a best way possible. It feels honest, I mean, the Catholic school atmosphere depicted here is quite similar to what I personally experience growing up in Catholic school. It's also quite moving, sweet and humane in the way it treats its characters. Despite the ninety-minute running time, you really feel like you got to know the characters. Gerwig has the chops of being a fine, fine filmmaker. This is actually the last film I saw in 2017, quite literally. I can think of no better film to end the year with. One of my favorites of the year.