Malcolm1980's 2018 Movie Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

1/20

The Blue Dahlia (George Marshall) *** - After a long (for me) hiatus of reviewing movies, I'm back. This is a 1940's film noir about a World War II veteran who is wanted for the murder of his hedonistic wife. The screenplay is by Raymond Chandler. In many ways, this is a conventional wrongfully accused/mystery/whodunit though it does go in a lot of twists and turns and it gets somewhat convoluted. The performances are good especially William Bendix as an army buddy whose head injury causes him to fly into blind rages and forget things (yes, I know but yes, it's a bit more complicated than that). It's not one of my favorite film noirs of the era but a solid one.

[malcolm1980]

1/21

Joint Security Area (Park Chan-wook) ***1/2 - Two North Korean military officers are found dead near the JSA-DMZ in the North and South Korea border. It's up to a Swiss woman of Korean descent to get to the bottom of this mystery. This film was made 18 years ago but it's strangely relevant now due to recent events. This is an intriguing film that plays out like a twisty murder mystery but also manages to include thoughtful reflections on war, politics and division among human beings. And even managed to sprinkle in some humor. This is definitely in the upper-tier of Park Chan-wook's oeuvre.

Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes (The Two Mrs. Reyes) (Jun Robles Lana) ***1/2 - Two women find out their husbands have left them for each other. Yes, it's kind of like Grace and Frankie, the prequel. But the similarity (I think, since I haven't seen that show yet) ends there. This is from Jun Robles Lana, one of contemporary Philippine cinema's most talented mainstream filmmakers and he managed to craft an LGBT film that's funny, rich, intelligent and progressive all at once all while being quite a crowd-pleaser. There are so many ways this could have went wrong but he mostly manages to avoid the pitfalls. It helps that the cast is really game with the whole thing. Yes, I'm surprised this is as good as it is. Highly recommended.

Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow) ***1/2 - Set in a not-too-distant future where a virtual reality technology was developed where you can see and feel real-life memories from other people. This is yet another entry in my #52FilmsByWomen year. This is a film by Kathryn Bigelow with a screenplay by her ex(?)-husband James Cameron who crafts an actually fascinating script with a lot of big ideas, albeit a bit overstuffed with plot. I mean, I won't spoil it but there are, like, two stories with two different climaxes that happened in this film. It is still shockingly still relevant today despite the fact that it's a film made in 1995 set in 1999. Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett are excellent in this. Bassett in particular is super bad ass. I'm wondering why she didn't become an action hero after this. Definitely a film you should check out.

[malcolm1980]

1/22

All The Money in the World (Ridley Scott) *** - Based on the true story of the kidnapping of Paul Getty, the grandson of oil tycoon-billionaire-then richest man in the world Jean Paul Getty, his mother's determination to get him back and his miserly grandfather's refusal to pay the ransom. The behind-the-scenes last minute reshoots of the film due to the original John Paul Getty actor Kevin Spacey's scandals and him being replaced by Christopher Plummer (who was director Ridley Scott's original choice anyway) is what makes this film of special interest to a lot of people. Yes, Ridley Scott impressively pulled it off. It's near-seamless (though the scene in the desert is obviously CGI'd) Plus Christopher Plummer is actually pretty great. You can't imagine anyone else in the role and he is one of the highlights of the film. Otherwise, this is strictly mid-tier Ridley Scott at best. It's a solid enough thriller but nothing to write home about unless you know about the behind-the-scenes drama. Michelle Williams is also reliably good. So, yeah, it's...good.

The Daughter of Dawn (Norbert A. Myles) *** - I found this little oddity on Netflix. I thought it was a modern picture but it turned out to be a silent film about Native Americans....and starring Native Americans. The plot is strictly basic: Chief's daughter wants to marry one man but another was promised to her. Classic love triangle stuff. The filmmaking is as basic as you can get. However, the fact that it stars Native Americans of the era, the film feels lived-in and authentic, as if almost like a documentary in a way. It's one of the very few films that feature Native Americans as played by Native Americans. It's worth checking out just for that.

[malcolm1980]

1/23

Who's That Knocking on My Door? (Martin Scorsese) *** - This is one of, if not the first feature of director Martin Scorsese. It's about an Italian-American Catholic tough guy romancing a girl, just as simple as that. Watching this, a very early feature from distinctive auteur, it has practically everything we know and love about him: Italian-American machismo, Catholic imagery and guilt, spurts of violence, a cool soundtrack and cinephilia. It features a young Harvey Keitel in the lead role (and a young Robert De Niro in a cameo). It's all rough and tumble and far from perfect. He would subsequently return to all these themes in his filmography but it is fascinating to watch the birth of a great filmmaker. It's a solid enough flick especially if you're a fan of Marty.

[malcolm1980]

1/26

Shock (Alfred L. Werker) **1/2 - A woman witnesses a man murder his wife and goes into shock. So she goes into get treated by a psychiatrist who happens to be the murderer himself! Part Rear Window, part Gaslight but unfortunately nowhere near as great as those two films. This features Vincent Price as the murderer and he really makes the film. He's alternately charming and devious and he makes you understand his motives. His performance shows the glimpses of how this film could have been great. If only the film surrounding him was better. A more talented director and a bit of a rewrite would have made this material fly since it has lots of potential. It's just okay, but far from a must-see.

[malcolm1980]

1/27

Downsizing (Alexander Payne) **1/2 - Set in the not-so-distant future where scientists finally figure out how to shrink humans safely in an effort to shrink our carbon footprint. This follows one such a man's experience into this new miniaturized world. This is the latest from writer-director Alexander Payne. It's probably his most ambitious both visually and thematically. I think he bit off more than he can chew this time, unfortunately. The world-building here is pretty terrific, I must say. The journey into what this world with this concept would be like is fascinating but once he goes deeper into the nitty-gritty of the ups and downs of it, he loses sight of it. There are too many things going on. Matt Damon is fine but it's Hong Chau who really makes the movie. She's both funny and touching in this role. It's worth seeing the movie just for her. Overall, not a triumph but a pleasant enough effort.

Mr. and Mrs. Cruz (Sigrid Andrea Bernardo) *** - A young man and a young woman, both coincidentally with the last name "Cruz", are trying to get over bad breakups. They meet during a vacation in Palawan. It seems to me it's a very good start of the year for Filipino cinema. The first two 2018 Filipino films I've seen are both pretty damn good. This romantic dramedy/travelogue about two brokenhearted people connecting has a very Before Sunrise-in-the-tropical-beach kind of feel, or if you're familiar with Filipino cinema, That Thing Called Tadhana feel. It doesn't quite reach the heights of either of those films but it does come close and the two leads are charming and has chemistry. It's a solid film.

The Silent Partner (Daryl Duke) ***1/2 - A bank teller finds out his bank is being robbed and decides to come up with a plan to try and keep the stolen money for himself but the bank robber just happens to be a huge psychopathic killer. I've never heard of this film before it was recommended to me last week. It's a Canadian film as it turns out and it's pretty darn good. Elliot Gould is the star but Christopher Plummer steals the scene as this terrifying psychopath bank robber, a type of role I've never seen him before and he's terrific. The film is a must-see for that alone. The screenplay is by Curtis Hanson, as it turns out. This is highly recommended.

[NGL]

I haven't seen Downsizing, but, I do have a big problem with the basic concept. Wouldn't it be easier to move society to non-carbon sources of energy than to shrink humans?

[malcolm1980]

1/28

The Red House (Delmer Daves) *** - A teenage girl invites her male classmate to work for her father on his farm only to uncover a dreadful secret. I thought this film was a bit too convoluted and confusing. It didn't help that the video quality of the DVD I had was kind of poor and I missed some of the dialogue but I got the gist of it. It's kind of an underrated, overlooked film which is too bad because it does contain one of Edward G. Robinson's best performances as an adoptive father with a secret, dark past. He alternates between loving father and creepy guy with a secret effortlessly. It's worth checking out just for that.

Death on the Nile (John Guillermin) ***1/2 - Based on the Agatha Christie novel, this time it has Hercule Poirot on a luxury cruise down the Nile River when murders start to happen. I happen to enjoy this a lot more than Murder on the Orient Express (despite following more or less the same whodunit formula) partly because I actually wasn't spoiled with the ending and partly because director John Guillermin actually injects more of a sense of fun into the proceedings which was missing in the Sidney Lumet version. It's slickly made and actually made me wanna take a cruise down the Nile despite the muders. It features a fine all-star ensemble cast too.

[malcolm1980]

1/29

The Lady Confesses (Sam Newfield) **1/2 - The long-lost, long-thought dead wife of her fiance shows up at a young woman's door warning her to stay away from her husband and not long after, the said wife is dead. Of course the couple are the prime suspects. In many ways, this is kind of a standard film noir with its murder mystery plot and its twists along the way. But also its efforts to be unpredictable backfires a bit in the third act. It's not entirely without merit but this is not the hidden gem I wanted it to be. It's a pretty solid hour-long watch though.

[malcolm1980]

1/30

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (Nick Broomfield/Joan Churchill) ***1/2 - This is the documentary on the final years of convicted female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, featuring interviews with Aileen Wuornos herself as well as her friends and family. I saw Monster and this documentary was released the same year. I think it perfectly complements it because this documentary largely focuses on the legal system and the details surrounding her trial and eventual execution and other stuff the film didn't touch upon too much. It's also a fascinating look into her actual mental state. My personal impression is that she's clearly crazy but actually often makes good points. Since this is co-directed by a woman, this is yet another part of my #52FilmsByWomen year viewing.