Malcolm1980's 2024 Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

1/13


The Boy and The Heron (Hayao Miyazaki) **** - It's World War II and a young boy still grieving the death of his mother moves with his stepmother and father in the country and then meets a heron who will send him on a dangerous, fantastical adventure. The worst thing I can say about Hayao Miyazaki's latest film is that it's not his best work. Of course, I'm someone who has seen all but one of his features and all of them are at least very good with three, maybe four outright masterpieces on them. This is definitely upper-tier (I will have to stew on it a little bit and wait a few years to determine if this is in masterpiece territory). This features some stunning animation as well as a story that's as thrilling as it is touching. It is not just one of the best animated films of the year but one of the best of the year period. If Miyazaki retires after this, he would retire on a high note.

Saltburn (Emerald Fennell) ***1/2 - A socially awkward scholarship student in Oxford ingratiates himself into the high-class, aristocratic family of a handsome young man. I can definitely see why this is getting so much divisive reactions online: There's hardly any sympathetic characters, the lead character is creepy and off-putting and I have to say, it's a bit of a tonal mess. But I have to say: I liked it. This darkly comedic Talented Mr. Ripley-esque satire on class has some truly funny and biting moments. The cast is of course very much game. Barry Keoghan is terrific and so is Rosamund Pike. The script could've been tighter and the film shorter but overall, it's a very good sophomore entry from writer director Emerald Fennell.

[malcolm1980]

1/14

Foe (Garth Davis) ** - It's 2065 and a young couple in a secluded ranch is approached by a mysterious stranger with a strange proposal involving one of them becoming part of a space colony. I thought the trailer was intriguing. When this started to get negative reviews, I was puzzled. A science fiction film with very talented actors and an interesting premise involved couldn't be that bad. It turns out, the negative reviews were understandable. The film is a total slog. It's overlong, overwrought and when the third act twist came, I just shrugged my shoulders and went "Eh? I guess." The actors, of course, are faultless. Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal and Aaron Pierre give excellent performances and made the film somewhat watchable. I sensed director Garth Davis was trying to be Andrei Tarkovsky but he missed the mark completely. One of my least favorite films of 2023.

[malcolm1980]

1/15

House of Games (David Mamet) ***1/2 - A prominent, successful psychiatrist gets involved with a con man then gets fascinated by their world but soon gets more than what she bargains for. Before he went all MAGA, writer-director-playwright David Mamet did cool things like this film. It is a twisty, thrilling heist thriller that hits all the beats very well. But he manages to elevate it by making it just as much as a character study of a thrill-seeking career woman that makes it all the more intriguing. Both Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna also give some of their career-best performances here. This is all-around a near-perfect must-see neo-noir crime film and quite possibly Mamet's best cinematic work.

[malcolm1980]

1/16

The Divorcee (Robert Z. Leonard) **1/2 - A woman divorces her husband of three years after finding out he once had an affair then proceeds to try and have affairs herself. I have to say this film's tone is all over the place. There are times where I'm thinking I'm watching a comedy but there's nothing inherently funny about what's going on. Maybe I could chalk that up to it being 1930 and talkies are just trying to find their footing but even then, I thought it was a bit off. Of course, this is a pre-Code film so it's a bit racy and they tackle the theme of divorce head-on but I felt the film handled it a bit too simplistically. Norma Shearer gives a nice (and Oscar-winning) performance as the lead but overall, I found this to be a bit meh of a drama.

[malcolm1980]

1/18

Where Danger Lives (John Farrow) *** - A doctor falls in love with a mentally unstable woman and gets involved in the murder of her husband. Together, they try to flee to Mexico. Robert Mitchum is the lead in this one so for that reason alone you know this is at least worth a look. He manages to make you be on his side even though he sometimes does frustrating things as his type of character in film noirs is wont to do. Claude Rains makes a brief but memorable appearance as the nasty husband. I personally would not consider this a top-tier noir or even a top-tier Robert Mitchum movie but it is still overall a very well-made film noir that will satisfy fans of the genre.

Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian) **** - This is the musical version of the classic film Ninotchka in which a nasty capitalist pig (this time, a movie producer) romances a hardened communist envoy of the then Soviet Union. It stars Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse and features the music of Cole Porter. If you're thinking, this film sounds right up my alley, you'd be right. I thought I've seen all the great American/Hollywood musicals and I managed to catch this one. While I wouldn't say this is better than the original classic Ernst Lubitsch-Greta Garbo film, this is definitely a worthy companion piece and features some really superb musical sequences. Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse have seldom been better and when it was over, I was smiling. Yes, I loved this one and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes musicals.

[malcolm1980]

1/19

I Flunked, But... (Yasujiro Ozu) *** - A young man in college gets caught in a cheating scheme involving writing the answers in his shirt then gets flunked out and now must reassess his educational future. This is an early silent work from Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu. While it does have some of the qualities that would define an Ozu film, this is generally a more humorous film than what one is used to when it comes to an Ozu film. I have to say that I think this film would've worked better as a talkie, but that's just me. Overall, this is far from my favorite Ozu but it's still a more interesting film than most of what is being produced nowadays. So while it isn't his best, it's still a pretty good and at a little over an hour, a quick watch.

[malcolm1980]

1/20


Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (James Wan) **1/2 - Black Manta still wanting revenge for the death of his father, wants to unleash an evil into the world. Aquaman, now a dad, must team up with his imprisoned brother to stop him. I came into this late and with very low expectations. As it turns out, it's not as bad as I was expecting. But it isn't very good either. Even though Jason Momoa is still a charming, appealing lead and director James Wan still manages to milk some fun out of the proceedings, a huge bulk of the film is still a slog and a mess. This being the final film in the DCEU as we know it, it pretty much ends with a bit of a shrug. This isn't bad as background noise or airplane entertainment which a lot of these types of films become but as a piece of film, even as a superhero film, it's fairly below average.

[malcolm1980]

1/21

The Pledge (Sean Penn) *** - A police detective on the eve of his retirement gets involved in a case of a brutally raped and murdered young girl and made a promise to the parents that he would bring her killer to justice which slowly consumes his own life. Jack Nicholson gives one of his least Jack Nicholson-y performances as an obsessed police detective determined to fulfill the titular pledge. It is the main reason to see this film which does drag quite a bit and can be frustrating at times. The stellar supporting cast do give nice performances (some of them only for a scene or two). It tries to be both a character study and a mystery procedural which put this into the realm of greatness but however, in my view, it doesn't quite strike that balance but Nicholson's performance does make it come close. Overall, a good but not quite great film but you can see it could potentially be a great film.

[malcolm1980]

1/22

Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet) **** - When her husband is found dead from an apparent fall, a woman is tried for his murder. But was it? The premise is so deceptively simple. It's pretty much a cliché in terms of the procedural thriller and murder mysteries. But co-writer-director Justine Triet does something quite remarkable and turned it into a complex character study as well as a scathing examination of a marriage. Bringing this to life is Sandra Huller who gives quite possibly my favorite female performance of 2023. It's one of the most difficult characters to portray and she nails it and then some. Almost equally excellent is Milo Machado Graner who plays her young sight-impaired son. I can see why this won the Palme d'Or. It is indeed one of the best films of the year.

[malcolm1980]

1/23

A Soldier's Story (Norman Jewison) ***1/2 - It's 1944. World War II is raging in Europe. Back in the U.S., an African-American captain is assigned to investigate the murder of a black sergeant in a segregated military base in the Jim Crow South. Director Norman Jewison has recently passed away and this is my traditional watch to him. It's easy to say that this is simply In the Heat of the Night in a military based...in a way it sort of it but I think the substance is far more complex and a bit more interesting. I like the fact that it explores deeper themes apart from "racism is bad" that is actually unique to the military setting. I may like this a little better than the Best Picture winner. Adolph Caesar really steals the film as the murder victim. I think this is one of the more underrated Best Picture nominees out there. I highly recommend checking it out.