Malcolm1980's 2024 Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

3/17

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Frank Oz) ***1/2 - Two rival con men make a bet as to who can scam a rich woman out of $50,000 first. I have heard of this movie a lot. I have heard that it's really funny and really good. Eight times out of ten, when I hear this about '80s, it doesn't usually pan out. But I'm happy to see this time, it did! Michael Caine and Steve Martin make great on-screen rivalry as the two dueling con artists and it is often quite hilarious. In fact, I don't remember the last time a comedy made me laugh this often. The final act twist just puts it over the top. This is definitely one of Frank Oz's best directorial efforts. Highly recommended.

The Tall Men (Raoul Walsh) *** - Two brothers who are former Confederate soldiers take a job accompanying a businessman at a cattle drive from Texas to Montana facing a lot of challenges ahead. There are lots of things to admire about this film. There are some moments of real stunning filmmaking here. Director Raoul Walsh really takes advantage of the Cinescope widescreen to get some amazing shots. There are some genuinely exciting sequences here too. Clark Gable is the lead but Jane Russell almost steals the show as the woman who joins them along the way. Although written as a comic sex object, she infuses it with a lot of strength and wit. The film ends quite disappointingly though. You watch it and then it's over? That's it? It keeps it from being a true classic. But there's still enough for a mild recommendation.

[malcolm1980]

3/19

A Question of Silence (Marleen Gorris) ***1/2 - Three women who do not know each other beat a male shopkeeper to death seemingly without provocation. A female psychiatrist try to get to the bottom of this before their trial. Controversial for its time, with some people accusing it of misandry and some people hailing it as groundbreaking feminist cinema, this film will still inspire discussion and arguments to this day. No matter what side of the argument you land on, this is still a fascinating and intensely provocative film that really gives you a lot to think about and chew on especially in our predominantly patriarchal societies. So this is definitely worth a look and you're guaranteed to have a strong opinion on it.

[malcolm1980]

3/20

Before the Revolution (Bernardo Bertolucci) ***1/2 - An idealistic young Marxist has a love affair with an unstable young woman after his friend apparently drowns. This is an early work from director Bernardo Bertolucci but honestly, it feels a little bit like a Jean-Luc Godard film if he had been born Italian. There are lots of left-wing politics mixed with contemporary (at the time) pop culture references here. It is far less radical in both theme and form though and is more melancholy than angry in its tone so it's a bit harder to get into but once you get into its wavelength, it is quite rewarding and you can see why Bertolucci would eventually become a major director. It features great performances by the leads too.

[malcolm1980]

3/21

Affliction (Paul Schrader) ***1/2 - A small town police officer investigates a hunting accident while he deals with mental trauma from his abusive alcoholic father. This is one of those films I really should have seen by now but haven't. I have rectified that. This is definitely one of Paul Schrader's upper-tier films (though not my favorite of his). This works largely thanks to the great performances of Nick Nolte and especially James Coburn who is downright scary yet recognizably human as the nasty, abusive, drunk father. I always thought he won his Oscar because he's an unrewarded veteran but his performance has actual merit. These two make this film well worth watching.

[malcolm1980]

3/22

Beginners (Mike Mills) ***1/2 - A man grieving the loss of his elderly father, who came out as gay in the last years of his life, tries to begin a brand new romance with a woman. This is one of the most recent Oscar-winning performances I haven't seen and I'm glad I remedied that. Christopher Plummer is indeed quite excellent as the newly out old gay dad (but I have to say his part is smaller than I thought it would be). But Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent also give good performances as the central couple. After watching this, I think you will want to hug your parents, especially if they're older. This is a nice piece of work from writer-director Mike Mills.

[malcolm1980]

3/24

Immaculate (Michael Mohan) *** - A young novice American nun moves to a remote rural Italian convent then later finds herself inexplicably pregnant. Then even weirder, scary stuff happens. Although the plot is rather derivative, the execution is quite solid. There are some really good scares here with some sneaky social commentary on Catholicism and women's body autonomy. Sydney Sweeney is truly excellent in the lead role especially in the final scenes. Her performance alone makes this film worthy of a watch. Some of the very devout may find this sacrilegious but there's nothing here we haven't seen before. But overall, this is a good nunsploitation horror flick.

Shirley (John Ridley) *** - This is the true story of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to U.S. Congress and her run for the U.S. presidency. This is a pretty standard biopic and exactly what you would expect it to be. But it's made immensely watchable by Regina King's excellent performance in the lead. She really carries this film on her back and makes the character of Shirley Chisholm truly compelling and even though you know the results, you still root for her. The supporting cast is strong but Christina Jackson is the standout as Barbara Lee, the woman who will eventually follow Chisholm's footsteps. So, yeah, nothing groundbreaking but not a bad film to watch on Netflix on a lazy afternoon.

[malcolm1980]

3/25

The Scarlet Letter (Victor Sjostrum) ***1/2 - This is the silent 1926 film adaptation of the classic Nathaniel Hawthorne novel about a woman in a Puritan village whose husband is away at sea but has an affair and bears a child of another man. So she has to bear the titular scarlet letter A. This is a very good piece of work. Lillian Gish gives her best, at least in my opinion, silent performance in this one. She is heartbreaking and compelling as the woman. Directed by Victor Sjostrum, this version, despite being made in Hollywood, surprisingly does not shy away from the moare adult themes of the book. I haven't seen all the adaptations of this book (and I haven't read the book) but this is a very good one.

Three on a Couch (Jerry Lewis) *** - An artist wins a lucrative job painting a mural in Paris and wishes to bring along his psychiatrist fiancee who unfortunately cannot leave because she has three clients who will fall apart if they are left behind: three women who hate men. So he hatches a plan to solve that. Jerry Lewis can be very funny. But for me, he is very much hit and miss and this is one of those films which I think is very much the latter. There are some truly funny sequences here but the film is a tad overlong and kind of clunkily paced. That said, the funny parts are so funny that it is indeed worth seeing...unless you absolutely hate Jerry Lewis's brand of comedy. So, yeah, this gets a mild recommendation from me.

[malcolm1980]

3/27

South Pacific (Joshua Logan) *** - This is the film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical set in the South Pacific islands during World War II focusing on the romance between a French plantation owner and an Army nurse. This is my personal favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein musical yet I didn't see the film adaptation until now. I heard this isn't as good as the material so I was a bit hesitant. But this isn't at all bad. It's still pretty good. They made it quite cinematic (I mean, a story set in the tropics during World War II, that wasn't a hard thing to do). Mitzi Gaynor is a good Nelly and I'm glad the anti-racist themes are intact here (though one can argue there are dated racial elements here). A couple of my favorite numbers were staged disappointingly though but they nailed the emotional ending. Overall, not one of the best movie musicals but still a good one.

[malcolm1980]

3/28

Mr. Wu (William Nigh) *** - A Chinese businessman tries to exact revenge on the young Englishman who seduced his daughter. Yes, there’s yellow face going on here. (All the lead Asian characters are played by white actors, actual Asian actors are relegated to supporting roles) Yes, the story and the concept are somewhat racist towards Chinese and Eastern cultures. But ignoring that, this is actually a well-acted melodrama with some nice visual flourishes. Lon Chaney is of course excellent. Anna May Wong, one of the few actual Asians here actually contributes a nice supporting performance. This is a problematic film of course but it is worth a look due to the performances.

[malcolm1980]

3/30


Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Adam Wingard) **1/2 - King Kong discovers there's another threat to the world and is forced to team up with Godzilla to fight it. I have been spoiled by Godzilla Minus One, a film that reminded me that kaiju films can have actual substance, interesting human characters and exciting monster stomping action all in one movie. This one actually manages....one. But it does that one thing very well. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained by this film. Is it great? No. But it does know what it is and it is cheesy, monster-stomping, monster-fighting spectacle that is equal parts exciting and ridiculous. There's plot holes up the wazoo but who cares? Dan Stevens and Brian Tyree Henry actually make an effort to make their parts interesting but the big action scenes are the best part. It's an entertaining time killer nothing more, nothing less.

Footloose (Herbert Ross) *** - A young man (a "high schooler") moves to a small town where dancing is outlawed. This is one of those very popular movies I haven't gotten around to seeing until now despite the fact that I heard good things and I like the soundtrack. Well, as it turns out, it's a good movie. Kevin Bacon may not be the most convincing high school senior but he does give an appealing performance. However, I personally think the best parts of the movie (besides the aforementioned soundtrack) are John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest as the dance-hating preacher and his wife respectively. They both give lovely, human performance and I think gives this film its substance. It's a tad too long and there's a subplot I'm not a fan of but overall, it's a good film.