Malcolm1980's 2017 Movie Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

1/12

La La Land (Damien Chazelle) **** - I hate to add to the hype. I really do. But what can I say? I loved it. I had a smile throughout the film and by the end this movie completely won me over. It's one of those movies that remind me why I love film so much. The story is pure, predictable fluff: A struggling jazz musician meet and fall in love with a struggling actress. You pretty much predict where the story goes from there. But it's told with such style, such verve and such passion that you really don't care. You're just swept up by it all. It really is a Jacques Demy film for the 21st century. Ryan Gosling and especially Emma Stone are great. The songs are great. It's beautifully photographed and designed. I can't wait to see it again.

[malcolm1980]

1/14

Seance on a Wet Afternoon (Bryan Forbes) *** - A woman works as and believes herself a medium hatches a kidnapping plot in order to boost her business with the help of her husband and, at least she believes, the spirit of their infant son. Kim Stanley is superb as the so-called medium who's slowly unraveling. She makes the character believable and manages to not completely lose our sympathy even when she says or does the unspeakable. Richard Attenborough is also great as her husband/partner-in-crime but I never fully bought his motivation for going along with his wife. This is still worth seeing though.

Christine (Antonio Campos) ***1/2 - This is NOT an adaptation of the Stephen King novel but rather the true story of Christine Chubbuck, a local newscaster in Sarasota, Florida who killed herself live on the air. That's not much of a spoiler since it is a true story. I've heard about her story online. This explores her final few days leading up to her suicide. It reveals a talented, ambitious but deeply troubled young woman suffering from depression and various other issues. Rebecca Hall gives a magnificent performance as the titular role. She really should be getting more juicy roles like this. Antonio Campos's direction and the smart script kept this from being a Lifetime movie. It is instead a heartbreaking character study. Definitely a gem.

[malcolm1980]

1/15

The Pumpkin Eater (Jack Clayton) ***1/2 - Married to her third husband and a mother to at least six children, a woman's mental health starts to crack once she finds out she's pregnant again AND suspects her husband of cheating on her. This is a surprisingly frank and honest film about quite a number of serious issues. I don't think I've seen the issue of abortion and a woman's sexuality come up in such frank terms in movies of this time. Yet here it is. Even in 1960's, intelligently addressing it. Of course, the film is nothing without its heart and humanity and that comes in the form of Anne Bancroft's stunning performance as the confused, conflicted, reluctant mother. I think Jack Clayton is starting to become one of my favorite British filmmakers of this era.

Under the Shadow (Babak Anvari) *** - Set during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980's, a mother and a daughter are left alone in their apartment after the dad/husband gets called away on duty. While the war rages on, the daughter encounters supernatural creatures called djinns which proceed to terrify and threaten the pair. The British-produced Iranian horror film is legitimately scary. There are some jump scares but the filmmaker is able to build a sense of dread which is frankly creepy and frightening. Though it does have something to say about the horrors of war and the oppressiveness of the patriarchal Muslim society, it doesn't go overboard with it. In essence, it is still a nice, scary little horror flick.

[malcolm1980]

1/16

When Marnie Was There (Hiromasa Yonebayashi) *** - An orphaned 12 year old tomboy gets shipped to the countryside for her asthma. She finds a mysterious mansion in a marsh and befriends a little girl who lives in it who seems to be from another era. This comes from Studio Ghibli and it is a nice, lovely little film. I correctly guessed the secret/mystery halfway through the film and it kind of dulled the emotional impact of the ending but it's still a fine, beautifully animated film that's quite moving. It's paced slower than most animated feature films since it's more of a realistic drama (despite fantasy elements) so it's probably not for super young kids but fine for everyone else.

Fail-Safe (Sidney Lumet) ***1/2 - During the height of the Cold War, a series of grievous errors could set off a nuclear holocaust and U.S. government are scrambling to stop it. Yes, this film is pretty much Dr. Strangelove played as a straight up dramatic thriller rather than a darkly comedic satire. For what it is, it is quite effective. It's quite thrilling and the ending, well, I won't spoil it but it's not a happy one. It focuses more on the tragedy, rather than the absurdity of mankind destroying itself. I'd like to think that this is merely a product of its time and it's silly and it's not gonna happen but sadly, after last year, I think this film could be prescient.

[malcolm1980]

1/17

The Americanization of Emily (Arthur Hiller) *** - During World War II, a Navy officer who has a nice, cushy job as a"dog robber" (officers who procure luxury items for higher-ranking officers) falls in love with a British woman and at the same time gets roped into participating in making propaganda film that will place him in the front lines. This is probably the only film that has a scene depicting D-day with a laugh in it (not kidding!). Though it borders on being a bit too preachy at times, this is overall a pretty good anti-war black comedy. It works primarily because of the performances of James Garner and Julie Andrews (who have great on-screen chemistry, no wonder they re-teamed years later) with great support from James Coburn and Melvyn Douglas.

[malcolm1980]

1/18

Yearning (Mikio Naruse) ***1/2 - A widow who lost her husband during the war struggles to run his shop while her ne'er-do-well younger brother-in-law lives with her. This is from director Mikio Naruse, who really should be as highly regarded as Mizoguchi or Ozu. I'm glad his films are slowly being rediscovered (if only by film nerds). This is an exquisite drama led by extraordinary performance from the always great Hideko Takamine, who has become one of my favorite Japanese film actresses as of late. This drama goes into certain directions you may not expect and it really sneaks up on you emotionally. It is a beautiful film all around.

[malcolm1980]

1/19

Little Men (Ira Sachs) ***1/2 - Two 13 year old boys who have become close friends have their friendship tested when their respective parents enter a dispute over the lease of a dress hop. This film sounds rather slight and inconsequential and it is a rather quiet understated drama but that's where its strength lies. Though the film is deceptively small, the emotions underneath are large due to the predicament these two families and in particular, these two boys find themselves in. The cast is strong but the film would not have worked as well if it didn't have the strong performances of the two boys who are the beating hearts of this film and the reason you find yourself invested in it. In a way, it's such a beautifully human story about friendship and growing up.

[malcolm1980]

1/20

When Harry Met Sally... (Rob Reiner) *** - This is a belated tribute watch for Carrie Fisher. This is yet another one of those films that I should have seen by now but haven't. Anyway, a man and a woman meet become best of friends but can they be more than friends? Yes, it's now a romantic-comedy cliche. That's one of my apprehensions about seeing this. I already know the famous fake orgasm scene and the punch line ("I'll have what she's having"). I believe lots of rom-coms have tried to emulate this film and I've seen them all so why should I see this? It turns out, it largely holds up well. It's still quite funny. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan surprisingly has chemistry. It feels a bit like a Woody Allen movie minus Woody Allen. Not my favorite but it's a nice, sweet pleasant film.

[malcolm1980]

1/21

Split (M. Night Shyamalan) *** - Three young women are kidnapped and held captive by a man who suffers from a multiple personality disorder. This is coming from M. Night Shyamalan. I thought I've completely given up on him after the shit show that was After Earth but he did rebound quite a bit with The Visit which was a solid thriller. He continues his redemption arc with this film. Though it's far from a masterpiece, it gets points for being a nifty, high-concept thriller featuring a fun scenery-chewing performance from James McAvoy who takes the role of a man with 23 personalities and just runs with it. The third act verged on being silly but the final revelation in the last scene of this film totally redeems it and makes me excited to see M. Night Shyamalan movies again. He should really do these small-scale thrillers rather than the ambitious "big" films that he did for a time.

Zorba the Greek (Michael Cacoyannis) *** - A British man of Greek descent returns to the Greek island where his late father owned a mine in hopes of reviving it. Helping him is the eccentric title character and through him, he is introduced to the culture and way of life of the island. This is a fascinating but overall uneven and quirky drama that at its best when it's more about Zorba and the locals and less interesting when it's about the uptight Brit. Anthony Quinn is terrific in one of his signature roles but Lila Kedrova definitely stole the film and deservedly won the Supporting Actress Oscar.

[malcolm1980]

1/22

Ilawod (Dan Villegas) ***1/2 - This is kind of officially the first 2017 film for me. And it's a Filipino film. If this is any indication, then 2017 Philippine cinema is starting off in the right foot. This neat, little horror flick is about a middle-class Filipino family tormented by an evil water demon who hitched a ride with the dad, a journalist who covers paranormal stories for his paper. This is from director Dan Villegas who is known for making romantic comedies and this is his first foray into horror and I hope it won't be the last. It is often genuinely spooky and scary without even resorting to jump scares. It frightens you and creeps you out in some other way. The third act was kind of faulty but overall an exemplary, smart horror film that's probably one of the better demonic possession movies of recent years.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Charles Waters) **1/2 - This is the film based on the musical based on the life of Molly Brown, a young woman who struck it rich and survived the sinking of the Titanic. It's another belated tribute watch for Debbie Reynolds, who is excellent in this film and she does make it worth watching. Sadly, I found the film itself rather disappointing. Though it's well-made and the dance numbers are well-staged, the score is forgettable. I was also kind of surprised that the Titanic scenes were super brief, almost an afterthought, really. I thought it was the third act. They opted to tell a rather derivative story of her love story with her husband and how she's tried to fit in with high society. But, yeah, see it for Debbie Reynolds.