APRIL 2021 MOVIES RECAP

 You know the drill - here we go!

• Freddy Got Fingered (2001)

I needed to do some research to really understand who Tom Green even was before I watched Freddy Got Fingered, because he was incredibly popular for maybe three or four years in the late 1990s before he completely disappeared from popular culture. Even just the existence of this movie proved this point; I don't know anyone who still talks about this movie. And let's get this out of the way - it's awful. I mean, really bad. But I found myself laughing at it pretty much all the way through, because behind the thick veneer of just how awful this movie is, I could tell that Tom Green was laughing maniacally at the fact that a studio gave him this much money to make a movie this terrible. If you can understand the movie on that level - that it's almost like Tom Green lost a bet and had to make this movie - then you will enjoy Freddy Got Fingered on a much deeper level than just trying to enjoy it on face value. 

• True Grit (2010)

I rewatched the Coen brothers' remake of True Grit. I had kind of forgotten how funny this film can be at times, which was a pleasant surprise for me watching it this time around. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely not a comedy, but the Coens' signature dry style of comedy definitely shines through in the quieter character moments. People also compare this to the original starring John Wayne, and especially compare his performance with Jeff Bridges. In my eyes Jeff Bridges completely outshine John Wayne in the role of Rooster Cogburn - Wayne walks on screen and performs the role of John Wayne, while Bridges completely disappears into his performance. Hailee Steinfeld is outstanding. 

• Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)

I rewatched this glorious performance from Tim Minchin, one of the most talented comedy performers of our time. 

• Bad Trip (2021)

This is another entry into the sub-genre of films like Borat and Bad Grandpa, in which the narrative is purely a vehicle to get from one real-life prank to another. It stars Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howery (Rod in Get Out) as they road trip across America pranking real people on camera. That's about all there is to this, and while there were a few pranks that I laughed at I was pretty bored for a lot of its runtime. 

• Sunshine (2007)

I had been trying to find and watch this film for a long time, and I finally was able to watch it. It's one of Danny Boyle's lesser known films, and one that didn't perform well at the box office, but it is exactly the sort of ideas driven, psychological science fiction film that I love, which descends into trippy sci-fi horror in its final act. Written by Alex Garland, it explores rich veins of ideas about religion and science, playing with myths like Icarus in exciting ways. It's probably not for everyone, but I really really enjoyed it, and went with it in its final act. Strongly recommended for any science fiction fans out there.  

• The Assistant (2019)

I had heard a lot about this being boring before I saw it, and to be fair to those people I totally understand why you would find this to be the case. The trailer certainly didn't do you any favours in terms of setting reasonable expectations. But I was riveted by this film from start to finish. Starting life as a quasi-documentary based on interviews, it takes its final form as a fictional narrative piece very clearly and heavily inspired by the Harvey Weinstein revelations of pervasive sexual abuse in the film industry, it follows in painstaking, subtle detail the working day of a young woman named Jane (played by Julia Garner) working in a film production office. We only ever see glimpses of her boss, and he remains faceless. We hear him yelling at her over the phone, we see a chilling email sent to her, but he is largely a phantom. Instead we experience her interactions with her coworkers, the mundane tasks she must complete, and most uncomfortably, a trip to the HR department to report what she thinks might be signs of sexual abuse in the workplace. It is incredibly subtle and quiet in its depiction of real-world horrors, and in my mind all the more devastating as a result of it. The fact that such horrors were treated with the same workman-like apathy as photocopying and spreadsheets is communicated with such strong conviction and a real confidence to allow the film to maintain its pacing. Like I said, I completely understand the complaint that people found this boring, but I had the opposite experience. 

• Predator (1987)

I love that this is basically a slasher movie that Trojan-horsed itself into mainstream cinema wearing the mask of the macho action films that were popular through the 1980s. This is how it separates itself from other such films like Commando and Die Hard, part of a legitimately great but slightly worn out era of action films; it gradually strips those elements away so that by the time we reach the film's final act, Arnie and the Predator one on one in the jungle, it really is at its heart a slasher horror. The set-up is incredibly simple, too. A group of mercenaries head into the jungle to save some hostages and end up being stalked and hunted by an extra-terrestrial. One by one they are picked off in gruesome fashion, before we get the climactic final showdown between hunter and hunted. The other thing this film does incredibly well is explain its lore without any exposition. We get shown details about the Predator - how its weapons function, its healing methods, its respect for hunting tradition and the sport of it all - and we understand it in a way that would have been completely undercut by them, say, running into someone in the jungle who explains it all to them in dialogue. It assumes the viewer is paying attention and leaves all the information you need in the filmmaking without butchering it with unnecessary exposition, something which elevates this from a pretty good 80s action flick to something great. 

• Big Trouble In Little China (1986)

I continued my run of John Carpenter films I haven't yet seen that I begun last month with They Live and Prince of Darkness by watching Big Trouble In Little China. The whole time watching this I couldn't stop thinking: why aren't more movies like this made today? The answer to that question is so multi-faceted and complex that I'd actually just recommend you go and watch this film instead of thinking too much about it. There has been a fair bit said about the film's racial politics, but when you combine the fact that Kurt Russell's "white saviour" character is portrayed as a complete buffoon with the knowledge of the kung-fu films Big Trouble is paying homage to, I didn't have a problem with it at all. 

• Heat (1995)

I had always been put off by this film's run time and so had never actually seen it until this month. Holy shit is this a good movie. Michael Mann really knows how to ratchet up the tension.

• Uncut Gems (2019)

I saw this for the first time back in December of last year, and felt like revisiting it after I revisited Good Time last month. It is such and intensely anxious experience that doesn't give you any breathing room with its cinematography - it's all closeups, fast dialogue, oppressive sound and score, and breakneck editing. Just like the first time I saw it, I needed a few minutes to take some deep breaths and calm down after watching it. 

• If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

This is one I had been wanting to see for a while given how much I love Moonlight, another of director Barry Jenkins' films. It's got nothing on Moonlight, but it's a fantastic film with real heart and genuine beauty at its centre. 

• Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)

I was expecting to be bored by this if I'm being completely honest, and so I was pretty surprised by what this film actually has to offer. It's very flawed, to be clear, but it's a lot of fun and clearly was made by people who had a real excitement for the material and for the film that they wanted to make. It suffers a lot from having way too many subplots running simultaneously, but there's an undeniable sense of excitement and momentum at the heart of the film that I wasn't expecting at all given the DCEU's current track record. 

• The Big Short (2015)

Adam McKay's film about the GFC has some issues, but was really engaging. 

• Carrie (1976)

Having seen the Chloe Grace Moretz remake a while back and hating it, this had always been on my radar as something to see to wipe the memory of the shoddy remake. It's got a lot of 1970s charm, and Sissy Spacek gives a wonderful performance as the titular Carrie. Importantly, though, I never found it scary, something that a horror film needs to succeed at, and while I enjoyed it for other reasons I was a bit disappointed by the lack of scares. 

• mother! (2017)

I don't know why I was drawn to rewatch this Darren Aranofsky film, because the first time around it was such an incredibly oppressive experience, but I revisited it for whatever reason. It was still just as unpleasant and claustrophobic, but I think this time around I had a lot more appreciation for the craft and skill that went into the experience. I do often wonder with a certain enjoyment what the Jennifer Lawrence fans fresh from The Hunger Games made of it in the cinemas - say what you want about Lawrence, she is fearless in some of the choices she's made in terms of roles in recent years. 

• All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

I was not at all prepared for just how powerful All Quiet on the Western Front is. I had no idea. I sat in the darkness for about five minutes after the film, just silently processing what I had just seen. 

• Blade (1998)

Blade is incredibly tonally inconsistent and has some pretty shoddy late-nineties visual effects, but it's a fascinating film to watch as a precursor to the superhero film boom in the twenty-first century. When you think about the things that have been celebrated in the world of superhero films in recent years, so much of them can be found in one form or another in Blade. They really loved their trench coats and sunglasses in the nineties, didn't they?

• Tom Segura: Disgraceful (2018)

I've been going on a bit of a Tom Segura kick recently, the YMH podcast with him and his wife Christina P being on in the car a lot. His 2018 Netflix special - Disgraceful - isn't his funniest (I think Ball Hog takes the cake), but I always enjoy listening to Segura.

• Hail, Caesar! (2016)

It had been a while since I'd seen Hail, Caesar! - it might have been while it was in theatres - and I'd kind of forgotten how funny it is. It is very Coen brothers in its comedy, meaning that it won't work for some people, but if that register of comedy works for you, as it does for me, you'll cry laughing the whole way through. 

• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

It has always baffled me that this film doesn't get more recognition as one of the great thrillers of the 2010s, because on revisiting it again I'm convinced that it's one of the best. Between this and Let The Right One In I will never understand what happened with The Snowman, because Alfredson has made some of the all-time great films of the 21st century.

• I Care A Lot (2021)

I didn't know anything about this beforehand other than that Rosamund Pike turns in another outstanding performance, and while I certainly agree with that statement I couldn't bring myself to be nearly as enthusiastic about the film itself. So much of it just felt middle of the road - not terrible, but not anything to write home about, which is a strange response to have to a film about such horrible people doing such horrible things to each other. The fact that literally everyone in the film is awful doesn't help, because once the pace begins to pick up and the stakes raise you have nobody to root for, which really hurts the film. I'd say it's almost worth watching for Pike's shark-like performance, but other than that I can't really recommend it to anyone. 

• Casino (1995)

The runtime of this behemoth had always put me off watching it, but I finally just did it and I've got to say that I was a little let down. Don't get me wrong, it's Scorsese firing on all cylinders with and iconic cast working within subject matter that he knows inside and out, but having revisited Scorsese's Goodfellas recently as well as seeing Michael Mann's Heat which came out in the same year, I was mildly let down. I just feel like Scorsese has approached this subject matter more concisely and memorably in Goodfellas, and when compared to the other three-hour crime epic starring Robert De Niro that came out that year (Heat) it just isn't quite as memorable for me. Again, I want to make this clear - it is an outstanding movie from a technical and storytelling perspective, nobody in their right mind would deny that. But I guess I just saw it at the wrong time in my life for it to have maximum impact.

• Apocalypse Now (1979)

I watched the original theatrical version of Apocalypse Now for the first time, having already previously seen it in its Redux form. I actually wanted to see it in its new Final Cut presentation, but the menu on the Blu-ray I own wasn't working properly so I wasn't able to unfortunately, so I watched the theatrical version instead. It's an unbelievable film, you don't need me to tell you that, and I still can't quite believe that it actually got made. It is one of those films with an incredibly fascinating history and backstory, but unlike some of those films Apocalypse Now is just as gripping and disturbing as the behind-the-scenes history. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you doing? I can't weigh in on the Final Cut version yet, but I'd suggest Apocalypse Now: Redux over the original theatrical version.

• Tokyo Story (1953)

What a beautiful, tender film. This was my first experience with Ozu, a director that I have been meaning to dive into for a long time. I was actually planning on seeing it at a theatre that was playing it for one day only in Sydney, but I wasn't able to make it that day so I settled for watching it at home - I am so glad I did. 

• Lights Out (2016)

The first ten to fifteen minutes of the film are pretty creepy, but beyond that it becomes a real drag. I've only ever found cattle-prod jump scare movies tedious and boring, and unfortunately that's what this is. 

• Paths of Glory (1957)

I finally saw Kubrick's 1957 war drama, and it really left an impression on me. All I really knew about it was that it has some iconic steadycam shots through the trenches, and it certainly did have that. It's opening act is tense and filled with dread, spending time with soldiers in the trenches coming to terms with their probable demise in the near future at the hands of unseen enemies. What I wasn't expecting was the way it develops into a drama about justice, tragedy, and the farcical hypocrisy of war. As it progresses I only enjoyed it more and more, and I think it might be my favourite Kubrick film (something I said on my Letterboxd review). I'm not comfortable with committing to that statement as gospel just yet, given how recently I saw it, but I certainly think it's one of his best, putting it in a pretty lofty category of great films. 

• Blade II (2002)

This was a lot of fun, even if it was extremely silly and nonsensical. Doing a bit of a catch-up on some Guillermo del Toro I hadn't seen, I listened to some interviews about the film too, and it seems to be firmly in the category of films he did to finance his more personal films. Despite that, del Toro does manage to sneak in a lot of his signature charm and flair for memorable horror and fantasy cinema. A particular highlight of the film is the design of the "reapers"; those things look nasty. 

• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
  

To my eyes this was pretty goofy, but I figured I owe it to the form to see one of the classics in the genre I love. 

• Brazil (1985)

This is one that had been sitting on my shelf for a long time before I finally put it on this month - I wish I had seen it sooner. Of the Gilliam films I've seen so far I think this is my favourite, it's just absolutely magical and has an unbelievably emotional conclusion. 

• Come and See (1985)

I hate it when people say things like this, but I'm going to say it anyway because I really mean it; Come and See is one of the very few films I have seen that I can confidently say have legitimately changed my life. The honesty and unfiltered brutality with which it portrays the horrors of war left me in a state of complete shock and exhaustion, and followed me around for days after watching it. While it portrays some of the most horrific acts that humanity has ever inflicted upon itself, where it really hit home for me was the way it communicates how these acts have the capacity to completely annihilate the human spirit and break the will to believe in goodness. That's about all I have to say about Come and See for now, because I suspect I will be revisiting it in more depth soon.

• Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Heartbreaking. 

• The Hunt (2012)

I liked The Hunt a lot. Given that I knew what it's narrative was going to be dealing with before seeing it, I had expectations about how it was going to do so; expectations that were pleasantly and rewardingly subverted. Following a man (played by Mads Mikkelsen) who is falsely accused of paedophilia and the effect it has on both himself and the town as they mercilessly tear his life to shreds, it avoids the finger-pointing and accusation that a film written by a lesser writer or handled by a lesser director would have fallen into. Instead it quietly interrogates both sides, declaring allegiance to neither but offering unconditional empathy to both. It's a painful film to sit through, but one that has unfortunately become exponentially more relevant as the years have passed. As a male this movie scares the life out of me. 

• Midnight Cowboy (1969)

The highlight of the movie for me was the editing and sound design, which are outstanding and far outshone the narrative that unfolds - until that ending arrived and really knocked me out. 

• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

I continue to make my way through the Hitchcock box set, and really enjoyed Shadow of a Doubt. For a Hitchcock film I literally hadn't heard about at all other than seeing it's name on the spine of my box set, I was really surprised that I hadn't heard about in in the same breath as some of his other classics. A really great little noir thriller that more people should probably know about. 

• Dracula (1931)

I watched the English language 1931 Dracula, not the Spanish/Hungarian version of the same year that was shot during the night on the same set. It's effectively spooky, even now, although does drag a little in places. It boasts some really frightening imagery that still holds up today. 

• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

I enjoyed this, and more importantly I thought they stuck the landing with much more competency than the disappointment of the final episode of WandaVision. I was a little disappointed in the lack of subtlety towards the series' end, and found myself thinking about how great HBO's Watchmen is. While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is certainly breaking new ground for the MCU and is embarking on a more politically and socially ambitious direction, it doesn't hold a candle to the nuance and bravery with which Watchmen interrogated questions of race, history and politics in America. 

• Tom Segura: Ball Hog (2020)

• Daniel Sloss: Dark (2018)

• Tom Segura: Mostly Stories (2016)

• His House (2020)

This surprised me - a spooky horror movie about the trauma and pain of fleeing a war-torn home country and trying to leave it behind once you relocate in a new, foreign country. I love it whenever horror films use their imagery and scares as a way of externalising character-driven trauma or emotion, and His House does that in a really smart way. That being said, I would have liked it to be a bit scarier, and some of the scares - while rooted in character trauma - did feel a little derivative and one dimensional. Solid performances, though, and a little dash of body horror towards the end that was a nice touch. 

• The Skin I Live In (2011)

I can't say that I ever want to watch this again, because I was made to feel incredibly uncomfortable for pretty much the whole film, but I'm glad I did. Really really well made and incredibly effective in making you feel like you're watching something you have no business being allowed to see. It's really fucked, so check it out if that's your thing. 

• Rambo: First Blood (1982)

I think I was a victim of only having seen the 2008 Rambo film (which if you've seen you will know is a completely different beat), because I thought this was pretty underwhelming. I might need to revisit this at some point with more realistic expectations. 

• Isle of Dogs (2018)

This has jumped pretty much immediately to the top of my list of favourite Wes Anderson films with The Grand Budapest Hotel and Fantastic Mr. Fox. I was really surprised by how gritty and adult it is, something that I know some people have taken issue with, but that I think just adds a level of emotional heft and impact that I was not expecting from an animated film about dogs. They are rough, dirty and unpredictable, and were more engaging that most of the characters I see in new release films today. Special mention has to be made of the animation, too - the sushi scene has got to be one of the most jaw-dropping sequences of animation I've seen in a while. My one caveat: this isn't a kids film. That's not a bad thing, but I do think this was mis-marketed. 

• The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

I revisited this with my girlfriend who hadn't seen it before - it's one of my favourites for a reason. 

• The Omen (1976)

I'm going to be completely honest, I did not find The Omen scary at all. There are some memorable moments - the hanging, the impaling and the decapitation spring to mind - but for the most part I was actually pretty bored. I think I'm also turned off pretty much immediately in horror films when religion is used in a way that doesn't take it seriously. Not because it offends me as a follower, just because I am more engaged by films that take the subject matter seriously and interrogate it in ways that evoke real fears and questions from me. Maybe loving The Exorcist for such a long time has just made me spoilt. 

• Melancholia (2011)

Much like Come and See, I have a lot to say about how this film touched me and I'm not going to try to summarise it all in a little paragraph like this; I will revisit this in a full-length blog post because it really moved me. 

FAVOURITE FIRST WATCH: It's a real toss-up between Melancholia and Come and See for me, and I don't feel like I have fully digested either of them to the extent at which I would be able to discern between the two of them which is my favourite. So I guess this month we have a tie between Melancholia and Come and See. 

FAVOURITE REWATCH: The Place Beyond the Pines.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The Omen.

FILM YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH WITH YOUR PARENTS: Freddy Got Fingered.

That's about it for this month's recap - talk to you all again soon, legends!