Malcolm1980's 2023 Film Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

12/8

The One-Armed Swordsman (Chang Cheh) ***1/2 - A swordsman whose right arm was chopped off returns to defend his old teacher from a group of villains who seems to have a devious new fighting style. This is one of the seminal wuxia pictures courtesy of the Shaw Brothers. It is of course an enjoyable, engaging martial arts movie with a lot of great fight scenes. My one gripe is that I did not find this film quite as great as the other martial arts films of this era. But it is still a fabulously entertaining piece of work that will please any fan of the genre, casual or otherwise.

Lady in the Lake (Robert Montgomery) *** - A private detective wants to get out of his profession and go into crime writing but he is tasked by an editor with finding the missing wife of her boss. This film's plot is pretty much your standard typical film noir detective plot but what makes this film stand out is the way it's shot. It's almost completely in the first person perspective of the lead (I wonder if it's because this was the only way Robert Montgomery could both star and direct in it, I don't know) which I have to admit, kind of gets old after a while. But the film is still overall a pretty good film noir which will satisfy the fans of its genre.

Theater Camp (Nick Lieberman/Molly Gordon) ***1/2 - A performing arts camp struggle to keep open after its owner falls into a coma and the management of the camp is entrusted to her non-theater performer son. Done as a sort of mockumentary, this plot point is only used as a framework for a series of funny scenes involving the kids and the counselors doing their thing in the camp. I've never went to a performing arts camp but I do love theater and musicals so I found a lot of the jokes funny. The film perfectly balances poking fun at theater camps and being a love letter towards them. Granted, if a person is not into any of this stuff, you might find this a bit of a chore. But it's overall a solid, well-acted comedy.

[malcolm1980]

12/9

Wonka (Paul King) ***1/2 - This prequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory chronicles how Willy Wonka rose to become the famous Candy Man he is known to be. This film caught me by surprise. I did not expect it to like it as much as I did. Granted, I’m not a mad devotee of the Gene Wilder version and I’m a fan of Paul King’s Paddington movies but still, it surprised me. Timothee Chalamet is quite excellent in the title role infusing his role with both heart and quirkiness with good singing and dancing to boot. He is also supported by a strong supporting cast who all seem to be having fun with their roles. I think this could be another family classic in the making.

Broadway Melody of 1940 (Norman Taurog) *** - A struggling male dance team’s friendship and camaraderie is put to the test when only one of them gets an offer to audition for a big Broadway show. I didn’t think much of this film when I saw it as an option in the Criterion Channel because I didn’t like the Best Picture winner it shares its title with. But Fred Astaire is in it so okay I’ll give it a chance and it’s pretty good. Yes, like many musicals of this era, the plot takes a backseat to the musical numbers. But since you got Fred Astaire the numbers here, they do tend to be spectacular. There are better versions of this types of film, sure, but this manages to be a solid entertaining piece of work. Fans of the genre will be satisfied.

[malcolm1980]

12/10

A Passage to India (David Lean) ***1/2 - An Englishwoman meeting up with her fiance in India during the time of the Indian independence movement from the British raj accuses an Indian doctor of attempted rape. This is director David Lean's final film and I have to say, even though this is not my favorite film from him, he is still definitely firing in all cylinders in terms of the craft of this film. It is still as exquisitely made as his 1950's and 1960's epics. There are still a few problematic elements, its politics mostly holds up. While Judy Davis does give a great performance is worthy of her Oscar nomination, Victor Banerjee is just as impressive and equally worthy. It is just a tad too long but all in all a worthy swan song for a great filmmaker.

The Emperor's Nightingale (Jiří Trnka/Miloš Makovec)_***1/2 - A music-loving emperor discovers the beautiful song of the nightingale that would change his life. This is a short animated feature from what is now the Czech Republic. The animation may not be as slick or as polished as today's animation. It was made in 1949 after all but it does have its certain visual charm that actually sucks you into the story. The visuals are still also quite beautiful and quite intoxicating to watch. This is an absolute must-see for any animation fan or anyone who's interested in the history of animation especially outside of Hollywood/Disney. Oh, the narrator in the English dub which I saw was Boris Karloff.

[malcolm1980]

12/11

Strange Way of Life (Pedro Almodovar) *** - In order to save his son from being caught and hanged for a murder he may or may not have committed, a man meets up with the sheriff of the town who also happens to be his old lover. I don't usually give short films reviews but I have to make one of my few exceptions since this is a Pedro Almodovar gay Western. It is both great and a bit disappointing. Great in that it is what you would expect an Almodovar Western to be. It features good performances by its leads, Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal and the narrative is both classic Western and classic Almodovar at the same time with a score by Alberto Iglesias who's channeling Ennio Morricone. It is a bit disappointing because I have to concur with some people's statements about this in that IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FEATURE. The narrative presented here is rich and deep enough for a full-blown feature and in fact, I felt like it only ended on the first act. It feels like a proof-of-concept film for a feature rather than a complete short film. It's still worth a watch since it is an Almodovar film after all but I hope he makes the feature version of this someday.

Backfire (Vincent Sherman) *** - An ex-GI goes in search for his old army buddy who's a reformed criminal who's on the lam for murder. In an effort to clear his name, he goes on a journey alongside a nurse who fell for him, full of (dark) twists and turns. This is a classic twisty crime mystery noir if there ever was one. It is fairly standard in terms of the narrative, although I have to say the ending was pretty surprising. However, the excellent performances of the cast lifts up the material makes the film more thrilling and more engaging. Even though it doesn't quite reach the height of other film noir classics, it is a satisfying watch for the fans of the genre (that includes yours truly, by the way, in case you were wondering).

[malcolm1980]

12/14

I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes (William Nigh) ***1/2 - A vaudeville dancer is convicted and sentenced to death of a murder he did not commit. His wife races to find the real murderer in order to save his life. I watch a lot of obscure B-level film noirs and I sometimes find a few hidden gems along the way. This is one of them. This is an excellent film. At a dense seventy minutes, it grips with a compelling narrative, makes you care about the characters, do twists and turns and even surprise you. This is everything I want in a mystery/film noir. The performances are on point. I even find myself misty-eyed in a scene or two. Superb film all around. Highly recommended (It's currently streaming in the Criterion Channel).

[malcolm1980]

12/15


Emitai (Ousmane Sembene) ***1/2 - A group of women in an African village hide their rice crop rather than submitting it to French tax. This is from renowned Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene. While I've seen already quite a bit, African cinema is still largely a blind spot for me and if you're the same way, I would recommend starting with Sembene. This one depicts both the horrors and the absurdities of colonialism through a very unique African lens that is all at once fascinating and compelling. It can be harrowing one minute and darkly/absurdly funny the next without missing a beat. It's not my favorite film from Sembene but his films is far more interesting than most. So I still recommend this.

Asteroid City (Wes Anderson) ***1/2 - Framed like a play being produced, this film tells the story of a widower taking his children to a science contest in the middle of a desert and then seeing a UFO. I personally don't understand people going in a Wes Anderson film and then criticizing it and getting mad at it for being Wes Anderson film. I say let Wes Anderson be. You either love his stuff or you don't. I happen to be one of those people who mostly love his work. I wouldn't rank this one as one of my top-tier favorites but it's still a really funny, superbly crafted and acted (by a huge ensemble cast of well-known actors who do memorable work even in bit parts) piece of work that's just a joy to watch (or torture for Wes Anderson haters) since he really doubles-down on his style here. So, yeah, I loved this. What else can I say?

[malcolm1980]

12/16

The Breaking Ice (Anthony Chen) *** - In one wintry weekend in a city right at the border of North Korea and China, three people: a young man from Shanghai, a tour guide who used to be an Olympian figure skater and a single father restaurant worker, befriend one another. This film kind of reminds me of a somewhat more somber, Asian-version of Jules & Jim (or Band of Outsiders), although we do get more of the background of the characters. The performances are excellent and the cinematography is beautiful. Although I don't think the subplot of North Korean defectors completely worked with the film as a whole and the film ends rather abruptly and unsatisfactorily. Overall, it's a good, well-intentioned but ultimately flawed piece of work.

The Delinquents (Los delincuentes) (Rodrigo Moreno) ***1/2 - A bank clerk almost out of the blue decides to rob a huge amount of money from the bank he's working in and ropes in a co-worker to split the money with him while he turns himself in and serves time in jail. This is essentially a heist film but it's almost like deconstruction of a heist film. The film is three hours long so we actually spend a lot of time with these characters and we see the consequences both positive and negative of their actions. While I do think three hours is a tad too long, it is interesting take on the genre. It allows you to chew on heavy themes like capitalism, etc. Weaving in dark comedy was a nice touch. If you don't mind the three-hour running time, it should be worth your while.

[malcolm1980]

12/17

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Sam Fell) **1/2 - The sequel to the 2000 Aardman animated film has Ginger and Rocky raising a daughter and facing an even bigger threat of a larger, more high-tech chicken factory farm from Miss Tweedy. I have to say that while I liked it a lot, the original Chicken Run isn't my favorite Aardman animated film so I wasn't particularly asking for a sequel since where else can you go with that story? Well, the sequel is here and it's not bad. Though it's bigger in scale and has more intricate plotting, it's basically the same story. However, the animation is pretty spectacular and the voice-acting from a fine ensemble cast of actors is so fun that you don't mind for the most part. There are some truly clever jokes, gags and sequences here. But,yes, it is basically more of the same.

[malcolm1980]

12/30

Godzilla Minus One (Takashi Yamasaki) **** - While dealing with PTSD and survivor’s guilt at the end of World War II, a kamikaze pilot meets and befriends a young woman who adopted a baby…then Godzilla shows up. I read that Akira Kurosawa wanted to make a Godzilla movie. I think this is about as close to it as it can get and it is absolutely brilliant. The Godzilla sequences are of course thrilling but the human story (unlike the American equivalent of this thing) is just as if not even more compelling than the action stuff. This is pretty much how you make a quality blockbuster. I found myself tearing up in parts. No joke. By the way, I’m currently writing while I’m in Tokyo. Yes, I saw a Godzilla movie while in Tokyo