Malcolm1980's 2020 Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

1/15

Bluebeard (Edgar G. Ulmer) **1/2 - A serial killer, nicknamed "Bluebeard", stalks the streets of London who likes strangling women to death. The prime suspect is a suave painter/puppeteer. The plot sounds far more exciting and intriguing than the actual film turned out to be. Director Edgar G. Ulmer has made good genre pictures (horror, film-noir, thrillers, etc.) in this period in time. But the production code at the time requires that the film's narrative get bogged down and neutered a bit. It does pick up steam in the end but a bit too little, too late. John Carradine's performance is terrific and holds the film together. But yeah, this is middling.

[malcolm1980]

1/17

The Haunted House (Buster Keaton/Edwin Cline) ***1/2 - Normally, I don't write reviews for short films. But, hey, this is a Buster Keaton short so I kind of have to as any self-respecting cinephile. This is about a banker who gets into trouble and finds himself in a "haunted house" (note the quotation marks). This is probably one of Buster Keaton's more visually dynamic films. It's only twenty minutes long but he packs this film with a lot of great visual gags and some really funny slapstick sequences. It's uploaded for free on YouTube so I highly recommend everyone to see it.

Big Business (James W. Horne/Leo McCarey) ***1/2 - Again, I usually choose not to write reviews for short films. But this is just so goddamn hilarious, I have to write about it. This is an early Laurel and Hardy film. It's a silent picture. I always Laurel and Hardy in talkie form. Will they be as funny in a silent movie? The answer is a resounding YES! This is one of my favorites of theirs. They are door-to-door Christmas tree salesmen trying to sell trees in California. Then it escalates from there. This film takes a turn which I wasn't sure about but then it just became bigger and bigger and it became sublimely hilarious. You have to see it to believe it. Again, it's on YouTube. Highly recommended.

[malcolm1980]

1/18

Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi) ***1/2 - It's World War II Germany and a 10 year old boy joins the Hitler Youth and has Hitler as an imaginary friend. In the meantime, his mother hides a Jewish girl and is secretly helping the Resistance. I actually didn't expect to love this as much as I did. I kind of love the way writer-director Taika Waititi just kind of goes for it. Yep, they went there and it really mostly works. It's very funny when it needs to be, dark when it needs to be, sweet when it needs to be and heartbreaking when it needs to be. The performances are great. Roman Griffin Davis is a real discovery. Thomasin McKenzie further proves she's one of the best young actresses out there. Archie Yates is a funny scene stealer. This is a solid comedy. Another thing, I'm on Twitter and I see that a lot of people, not only hated this film, but are absolutely offended by it to the point where they think it's wrong to even like it which I'm really dumbfounded by.

[malcolm1980]

1/19

The Crimson Kimono (Samuel Fuller) **** - A burlesque stripper is murdered. Two police detectives, a white man and his Japanese-American partner investigate. Then the two get entangled in a love triangle. This film further cements writer-director-producer Samuel Fuller as one of my all-time favorite filmmakers. This film begins with an investigation of a murdered stripper then morphs into this Douglas Siri-Like melodramatic romantic love triangle. All the time, I was going, "What the--? Why?" But then, I'm not gonna spoil it but it just all comes together so beautifully. It was almost like magic. James Shigeta, as a romantic leading man, is outstanding. This is such an excellent film. Highly recommended.

[malcolm1980]

1/22

It (Clarence G. Badger) *** - A salesgirl gets entangled in a romantic web with her boss and her boss's friend who recently became fascinated with the concept of "It", a quality that attracts people to the opposite sex. No, a murderous clown doesn't show up in this one (yes, I had to go there). This is a romantic comedy of the silent era. It is probably one of the earliest examples of the modern day romantic comedy template. I must say, for the time it was made, I actually found it surprisingly progressive somewhat with the imperfect lead character's flirtatious ways were not condemned. It's still fairly cheesy though and it could have been funnier but Clara Bow is excellent. You can see why she is such a big star at the time. This one's available on YouTube for anyone interested.

[malcolm1980]

1/25


Mr. Thank You (Hiroshi Shimizu) ***1/2 - This film chronicles a day in the route of a bus driver servicing the long, windy and mountainous route in rural Japan. He is known as "Mr. Thank You (or Mr. Arigato)" because of his habit of yelling thank you every time he passes someone. This film is simply that: Quite literally a slice of life. We follow this driver as well as his various passengers that go in and out of his bus. It is sometimes funny and sometimes sad and sometimes strange but all quite compelling. It is kind of a fascinating glimpse into the lives of this particular time (1936, pre-World War II) and in this particular place (the rural area of Japan) which is of course the power of film. You can find this film on YouTube, FYI. It's worth seeking out.

Richard Jewell (Clint Eastwood) **1/2 - This is the true story of Richard Jewell, a security guard whose actions saved lives during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombings but whose life turns upside down when he becomes the prime suspect. This is a story that needs to be told. This film certainly had everything it needed to tell it properly. Clint Eastwood is a fantastic and he has a good cast especially Paul Walter Hauser whose plain, everyman look makes him quite effective as Richard Jewell. This film is fatally hobbled by its decision to overly-vilify both the FBI and the media in the form of Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde respectively. Especially the latter: It's almost as if she walked in from another film altogether where she plays a nasty temptress in a Christian movie. Though it's far from awful, it's still kind of a middling effort.

[malcolm1980]

1/26

Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) *** - Based on the true story of Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer who takes it upon himself to provide legal aide for death row convicts who can't afford it. His crusade focuses on getting a wrongly convicted man Walter McMillian out of death row. As I was watching this, I can't help but wonder, had the film focused primarily on Brie Larson's character, would it have done better at the awards circuit? It's a cynical thing to think about but after last year's Best Picture winner, I can't help but think about this. It is in fact an extremely well-made and excellently acted legal drama that ticks everything you expect at this particular sub-genre but is refreshing to see it done this way. It's nothing groundbreaking but you can't help but feel inspired by it and its heart is definitely in the right place.

The Cow (Dariush Mehrjui) ***1/2 - In a remote village in Iran, there's a man who's super in love with his cow (not exactly in that way though). He leaves the village. During his absence, the cow dies. The villagers worry about his reaction upon his return. Then it gets weirder. I recently subscribed to MUBI and this is the first film I checked out. This film starts out humorous and quirky but as it unfolds, it turns into something else entirely. I can't quite describe it without spoiling it and it's best to discover it for yourself. You're just gonna have to try and see it. But it is quite extraordinary. It's a one-of-a-kind classic from Iranian cinema which, as a cinephile, I'm glad it exists. Highly recommended.

Our Daily Bread (Mani Kaul) ***1/2 - A young wife dutifully waits for her husband with his roti by the side of the road during his bus routes. I have seen quite a number of Indian films but I have never seen one quite like this before. Unlike all the other Indian films I've seen, this one is slow, deliberately paced and quite meditative. It feels more like a European or Eastern European art house film than anything put out by Bollywood. It takes a while for you to get used to it but once you get into the wavelength of the film, it is a quiet meditation as well as a sharp critique on the banality of a patriarchal society. This was also on MUBI but as of this writing, you only have about two days to see it. It's worth checking out.

[malcolm1980]

1/28

Suzaki Paradise: Red Light (Yuzo Kawashima) ***1/2 - A young couple desperate for work find themselves in the red light district Tokyo. The woman finds herself a job bartending for prostitutes and their clients while the man delivers noodles. Their situation of course tests their relationship. I consider myself fairly somewhat well-versed in Japanese cinema and I've never even heard of this particular filmmaker, Yuzo Kawashima, until a few days ago. Based on this one film, he seems to be unlike any Japanese filmmaker of this era. Almost like Mikio Naruse but a bit more matter-of-fact and clinical. It's a fairly straightforward, unvarnished look into the life in post-war Japan, free from sensationalism and is also surprisingly kind of feminist and progressive. It's a fascinating, different point-of-view that I can't wait to see more of (thanks to MUBI).

[malcolm1980]

1/30

House by the River (Fritz Lang) *** - A man tries to seduce his beautiful young maid only to accidentally strangle her to death and gets his more decent brother to help him dispose of the body. There's a moment near the start which I can't believe they got away with at the time. It was pretty racy and fairly shocking (the strangulation that kicks off the film). I did read that Fritz Lang wanted to make the maid black which would've been even more shocking though I don't know if that would be better or worse. As for the film itself, it's a pretty solid film noir that starts strong and ends strong though it had some middle act problems. It's far from Fritz Lang's best work. It's far from even being Fritz Lang's best English language work but it's still a pretty good film with some worthwhile moments.

[malcolm1980]

2/1


Two English Girls (Francois Truffaut) ***1/2 - This film chronicles the relationship between a young Frenchman and two sisters, the two English girls of the title during the early part of the twentieth century. It's been a long while since I have delved into the filmography of director Francois Truffaut (and he's one of my favorite directors). This film starts out feeling like a very old-fashioned romance, the kind written by Jane Austen but then it slowly transforms into something else entirely which pretty much reminded me that Truffaut is still very much a French New Wave filmmaker. The worst thing I can say about this film is that it is upper midtier Truffaut but that is better than a lot filmmaker's first-tier films.

Spies in Disguise (Troy Quane/Nick Bruno) *** - After being framed for treason, a super spy teams up with a nerdy young, recently fired scientist and gets accidentally turned into a pigeon. This is essentially an animated mismatch buddy action-comedy that pretty much follows the familiar narrative beats of that particular subgenre. There are also quite a few genuinely funny gags and jokes here as well. But what surprised me is the fact that this film has an anti-violence message which kind of subverts this genre quite a bit and it largely works. It's one of the reasons that makes this film quite watchable. Tom Holland and Will Smith make a good team too even in cartoon voice form.