Malcolm1980's 2024 Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

3/3


Spaceman (Johan Renck) **1/2 - A cosmonaut (I think, since the character is supposed to be Czech) is on a one-man mission to Jupiter and meets an talking alien spider. This is a film that's firing in all cylinders: The cast including Adam Sandler is great. The space visual effects and the designs are well-mounted and actually excellent. Unfortunately, it's the script which feels like it was cobbled together from other better science fiction films of this ilk: Solaris, for one but also Arrival and Interstellar and dumbed down considerably. This results is a rather dull been-there-done-that type of film that's builds to nothing. It's such a waste of all the talent involved both behind and in front of the camera.

[malcolm1980]

3/4

Passenger (Andrzej Munk) ***1/2 - A German woman who used to work as a prison overseer for the Nazis sees a woman who could be one of her former prisoners and now must reckon with her past as a Nazi. This is the last unfinished film from director Andrzej Munk whose collaborators decided to cobble together a cut with the finished/existing footage. The result? All I have to say is: Oh, What Could Have Been! As it is, it is still quite a harrowing depiction of the Holocaust from the point of view of one of the perpetrators trying to excuse/justify herself. I have seen a lot of Holocaust films in my life and this managed to still be compelling and offer a new (and horrifying) perspective. I would say this is definitely an essential watch.

[malcolm1980]

3/6

The War is Over (Alain Resnais) ***1/2 - A communist veteran of the Spanish Civil War living in exile in Paris has gone weary of war and then meets a young woman involved in an extremist underground group planning to attack Spain. Don't let that plot description mislead you. This is more of a slow burn character study rather than a thriller of any kind (in fact, it doesn't really become a thriller until the last few minutes). But it is a very intriguing and thought provoking piece of work and it features some excellent performances from Yves Montand, Ingrid Thulin and a young Genevieve Bujold. It's from director Alain Resnais and even though I consider this somewhat mid-tier, it's still a solid outing from him.

[malcolm1980]

3/7

The Color Purple (Blitz Bazawule) *** - This is the film version of the stage musical adaptation of Alice Walker's novel which chronicles the often troubled life of Celie, a young black woman in the early 20th century. I have only seen the 1985 Steven Spielberg film (who co-produces). I have no read the book nor seen the stage musical. I haven't even listened to the cast album save for one song. Watching this, I sort of get why the musical always gets mixed-ish reviews on Broadway. While the songs and the numbers are great, I kind of feel the story itself doesn't seem to lend itself well as a musical, I don't know if anyone else feels this way. It's like having a delicious sweet dessert and delicious savory dish in one plate, delicious on their own, but they don't always go together. But the film is well-crafted, the cast is great especially Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson and Colman Domingo and overall, a film worth watching.

[malcolm1980]

3/8

Io Capitano (Matteo Garrone) ***1/2 - A Senegalese teenage boy decides, together with his cousin, to immigrate to Europe through illegal channels. The journey would be more than what he bargained for. This is Italy's Oscar nominated entry to the International Feature category at the Oscars this year and for good reason. This is quite a harrowing, eye-opening look at what African immigrants have to go through for a chance at a better life elsewhere. And while a lot of it is quite difficult to watch, the film doesn't wallow in misery and allows for moments of humanity and levity. That's thanks to the superb lead performances of first-time Seydou Sarr. He really gets you on this journey with him. This is another great piece of work from director Matteo Garrone.

[malcolm1980]

3/9

Damsel (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo) **1/2 - The fantasy trope of a heroic prince having to save a damsel in distress from a dragon gets an updated modern twist where this time a young woman from a struggling kingdom is given an arranged marriage to a richer more prosperous kingdom only to find out that she's a sacrificial lamb to a fire-breathing dragon. It's an interesting, novel concept. Millie Bobby Brown, of course, is fantastic in the lead and carries this film on her shoulders like a pro. However, the script doesn't seem to want to go in any truly interesting directions that would have made this into something truly special instead of just an entertaining Netflix film. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a just an entertaining Netflix film but it seems to me like wasted potential since it had such a great concept.



Kung Fu Panda 4 (Mike Mitchell) *** - In the fourth installment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise has Po being assigned to look for and train his successor as Dragon Warrior just as a looming threat is upon the horizon. Did we need another Kung Fu Panda movie? No. I thought the third one was a good way to wrap up the franchise and it was already showing signs of running out of steam as it is. But, hey, animated films print money so why not a fourth? Well, as far as fourth films go, this isn't so bad. Is it as good as the first three? No. It's probably the weakest of the bunch. But is it still enjoyable? Yes. There are still some good jokes here and there and there is also some good voice performances as well. I would almost recommend watching it just to listen to the Tenacious D. cover of Britney Spears' "...Baby, One More Time" in the end credits. Overall, it's disposable but good enough.

[malcolm1980]

3/10

Rock All Night (Roger Corman) *** - A local music bar which features a variety of musical acts and a cast of characters that use it as hangout place is suddenly taken over by a couple of killers on the lam. The first half of this film is Roger Corman pretty much doing a musical or at least a concert film with a band and singers singing full songs then all of a sudden almost out of nowhere, it becomes a crime drama. I'm not sure the two halves work together but it is an interesting exercise from the veteran, influential filmmaker so it's most definitely worth a look.

[malcolm1980]

3/14

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (Gordon Hessler) *** - Sinbad and his crew try to solve the riddle of a mysterious map as they are being pursued by an evil wizard. There are lots of things you can nitpick about this film. There is the mediocre acting. There is the corny, mediocre dialogue. There is the politically incorrect content. But there is a lot to enjoy here too. The Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animation is still a wonder to behold and still holds up very well. The action scenes involving them are genuinely exciting and well-staged. While the dialogue may be deeply flawed, the old-fashioned storytelling structure is effective. So it may be far from perfect but it is very much watchable.

[malcolm1980]

3/15

River's Edge (Tim Hunter) ***1/2 - Based on a true story, a young man murders a young woman and his friends argue whether or not to turn him in or cover it up. Starring Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover and Ione Skye, this film about disaffected teenagers was made in the 1980's and I have only heard of it recently. It seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle of similarly themed films of various genres and I think I know why. It's the darkest among them and it hits too close too home. Well, it's now streaming in Prime Video and I hope more people get the chance to discover it because it's a true hidden gem. It feels like The Lost Boys without the vermeer of being a vampire movie...which in a way makes it more disturbing. Highly recommended though.

[malcolm1980]

3/16

Heart of Glass (Werner Herzog) *** - When a renowned glass blower well known for his unique ruby red glass creations dies without passing on his methods, the people in his village slowly descend into insanity. The concept of this film is so absurd, I thought this could be one of Director Werner Herzog’s wacky documentaries but it’s not. As I was watching it, I found myself laughing in parts so I thought is this supposed to be some sort of a comedy? It’s just so deadpan and weird. Was it intended as a comedy? With Herzog, who knows? It’s not one of Herzog’s best but it’s an interesting film and very much worth a look.