Last movie you watched & your rating

[Kong Wen]

I headed down to Arby's on Sunday and then hit up the local cinema for an Oscar prep triple-header:

The Shape of Water — It was pretty good. The cast was great. Good story, good pacing (jumps right into the deep end), good setting, good themes. There's nudity. There's also lots of sign language! Overall I really enjoyed it but I can't see it winning best picture. It'll be a strong contender for some other other design and cinematography awards, though.

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri — My favourite of the three. Great performances and great story. It's McDonagh's best and most mature work IMO. The black humour is worked into the narrative more naturally than in In Bruges, for example. It's also surprisingly poignant. The poignancy shouldn't be a surprise given the subject matter, but I was afraid it was going to be kind of tokenized and "acted out" but it was very real. Even the minor characters had well-rounded, meaty roles.

The Post — This one was disappointing, and felt kind of phoned-in from everyone involved. I hesitate to say Streep put in a bad performance, but it wasn't Oscar-worthy. It felt rote, like the movie was just slapped together for Oscar time and hit all the right, safe beats. Spotlight was much better.

[The Shoemaker]

The Post — This one was disappointing, and felt kind of phoned-in from everyone involved. I hesitate to say Streep put in a bad performance, but it wasn't Oscar-worthy. It felt rote, like the movie was just slapped together for Oscar time and hit all the right, safe beats. Spotlight was much better.

I've definitely heard this sentiment, it was a Spielberg film too wasn't it?

[Kong Wen]

I've definitely heard this sentiment, it was a Spielberg film too wasn't it?

Yep! We talk about it in the next episode of our podcast (coming Monday). It seemed like it was just slapped together to be a "Hollywood Academy Award Best Picture Nominee" entry. That might be a bit too harsh, because we both enjoyed the movie well enough—just not anywhere near the class of the other nominees.

I saw Call Me by Your Name and Lady Bird earlier this week as well but I don't really have time to write about them in enough depth to give them the credit they deserve, so I'm going to hold off for now and maybe edit this later.

[Kong Wen]

Call Me by Your Name - Great movie.

• Excellent performances by the leads, and by Michael Stuhlbarg as the father.
• I love the unconventional drama—there's no central conflict other than love itself, which could be considered the antagonist. There's a lot of tension as the characters have to be so circumspect while feeling each other out. Lots of heavy cultural weight.
• The atmosphere is also fantastic. Every frame is alive with 1980s rural Italy. It's very lush.
• Should win Best Adapted Screenplay, and is a serious contender against front-runners for Best Actor and Best Picture.

Lady Bird - Great movie. It's about a quirky kid making the transition from high school to college ("Growing Up") in the early '00s. As someone who also did that then, it really hit home. Felt very authentic.

• The relationship between the main character and her mother was also super-authentic and layered, which is kind of a marvel given how many mini-plots are covered throughout the film (i.e. the whole movie isn't about those two characters sharing screen time, so they did an excellent job working with what time they had).
• That's kind of the main weakness of the film, for me: it's about too many things. It's about her coming of age, about her relationships, about her relationship with her mother, and about the city of Sacramento itself. It doesn't feel directionless or bogged down, and the kind of unfocused or off-centre feeling is mostly intentional in this kind of film, but that's part of why I don't consider it a front-runner for Best Picture, Best Director, or Best Original Screenplay. It's definitely a contender in those categories, though, and I also consider it a front-runner for Best Supporting Actress for Laurie Metcalf.

Black Panther - Great movie.

• I went in knowing it would be about colonialism (which is kind of my area of expertise), and I was glad to see the issue even being addressed in a mainstream blockbuster action hero movie at all.
• I was impressed that the movie was also a strong feminist movie. The women of Wakanda really stole the show—they were all awesome. And T'Challa being able to operate as a member of a team and sometimes play second fiddle instead of always having to be the king/hero front and centre is one of the great strengths of his character.
• I could write a series of articles about Killmonger as the villain, but for this post it'll have to suffice to say that Michael B. Jordan is a champion.

Interstellar - Great movie. I rewatched this with a group of friends, four of whom had never seen it before, and I still love it. Great music, great robots.

I, Tonya - OK movie. I actually had a number of problems with this one that detracted from my enjoyment.

• There's a lot of cheap 4th-wall-breaking and mugging for the camera that could have been OK in the interview scenes, but they laid it on a little thick throughout.
• Allison Janney's performance as Tonya's mom is getting critical praise, and it was faithful, but it still felt a little over the top. Not necessarily Janney's performance's fault... probably more the fault of the writing for giving a well-acted character kind of a tonally static arc.
• The dumb fat guy was also clearly meant to be played for cheap laughs, but I didn't find any of his scenes funny. They just fell flat.
• Finally, one of the critical talking points re: Margot Robbie's performance is that she played the character over a span of 30 years or so, but when I saw the trailer, I thought one particular scene was her skating as a 40-year-old... turns out that was when she was supposed to be 15. Basically, the role was not a large-scope physical transformation that I'd expect to get that kind of praise.
• I'd say they're both front-runners for their respective Oscars, because they are good performances, but I'd prefer to see McDormand win for lead and Metcalf win for supporting.

Icarus - Pretty good documentary. The first chunk sets up the context of the meat of the documentary, which comes later. This one was interesting, but I had a hard time liking it, partly because of the setup, which I won't spoil, and which the director doesn't ever really address or excuse or try to exonerate himself from. And then for the rest of the film, he takes an oddly active role, somewhere between trying to insert himself into an issue that doesn't really have anything to do with him and... oddly ingratiating or something? I don't know. The subject matter was good but I was constantly nagged by feeling something off about the director's involvement. I haven't seen enough of the other nominated documentaries to know whether this one is a front-runner or not, but it's certainly topical.

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If you want to listen to me and a friend chat about movies in audio form, you can check out my podcast, Plot Threads. We have two episodes online right now. The second one is our Oscars predictions run-down. We're also running a contest where you can submit your own Oscars picks and win some movie money.

[The Shoemaker]

I saw Black Panther the other day. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I think it just missed the mark of greatness. It had these really interesting story beats that just needed to be expanded on a little more. It seems like they were cut out for the sake of pacing (and ensuring the movie ended with a big fight), but if they had spent a little more time exploring some of the issues I think it could have been a stand out for me.

[Kong Wen]

We watched What We Do in the Shadows (2014) last night. It was even better than I was expecting it to be, and I was expecting it to be good. Waititi and Clement are warmhearted geniuses. This film managed to strike a brilliant balance between jokey comedy (with classic Waititi/Conchords style whispered/afterthought witty comments) and good drama. And it was only 85 minutes long! 9/10

[The Shoemaker]

I saw Ready Player One at an advanced screening last night. I had absolutely no expectations going in other than knowing there would be pop culture and video game references.

Overall, it was pretty fun movie. The structure screamed young adult novel, very hunger games, Divergent in its feel. But it still felt a little more approachable to an older audience.

The references were fun, one scene in particular did a great job re creating a classic. The story itself had an intriguing premise and the characters were fun, but there wasn't much of an arc.

Overall, I'd say it's worth a watch if nothing but to see what a crazy VR future could look like.

[SkyPikachu]

Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi: Overall I really enjoyed it but there were a few things that bothered me. Being super picky.

Spoiler

I wish Rey had turned with Kylo. I feel like a shift and a focus on the New Order (the dark side) would be a nice spin on things considering it's all mostly based around the resistance (light side) all the time. The yoda part felt forced and weird even though I love yoda it just didn't feel right. Like always the movie felt like it also dragged on a little to long and I sorely missed Hans. Also I wish more important people of the resistance died like everyone in the resistance is dead except all the main resistance characters it's just super weird.

Ready Player One: I really enjoyed this. Possibly even more than Star Wars The whole concept was awesome but felt a little light on details. They could have split it into 2 movies and fleshed it out some more. Also one of the characters has a weird marking on their face (in the real world) and it kept changing being lighter and darker throughout the movie it bothered me a lot. That car scene was epic and the retro stuff was really cool at time and other times really forced.

[Claytone]

Big update incoming! Since I discovered Atlanta's excellent, last video rental store, Videodrome, I've taken my film watching more seriously, watching about a movie or so a week. Plus, I've seen a couple in theaters. These are listed in approximate order of viewing within the categories listed. I think I'm missing a couple, but in any case, here's the rundown.

Bucket List: See All* Schwarzenegger Films
The Running Man (1987) - This movie was great. Richard Dawson was excellently cast, and I loved the super-serious tone combined with amusing camp. Super fun.
Commando (1985) - Gotta be up there in the all-time bodycount movies. Super dumb, but super fun. Glad I saw it.
Kindergarten Cop (1990) - This movie surprised me the most of the Schwarzenegger films I've seen so far. It was super enjoyable while really not being as family-friendly as its poster and marketing would suggest. Funny moments, action moments, touching moments. Quite the mix. I had fun with this return to the Pacific Northwest.
Predator (1987) - This movie was just okay, IMO. Good action setpieces, but just didn't grab me much, for whatever reason. Missable.

Bucket List: See All Bond Films
The Living Daylights (1987) - This movie was super fun and a great return for me to classic Bond. I hadn't taken in a pre-Craig Bond in a couple years, and I quite enjoyed it. Timothy Dalton is wildly underrated.
License to Kill (1989) - And on that note, he outdid himself in his only role reprisal. License To Kill is one of my favorite Bonds I've seen. Interesting concept, seeped in 80s cliches, great title theme. It has everything you'd want from a Bond movie. Loved it.

Pre-2018 miscellany
Deadpool (2016) - Mostly funny, but it's clearly a movie that was trying to be laugh-a-minute. Sometimes that can get grating. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.
Big Fish (2003) - Fun, fantastical movie that takes place in Alabama. Pretty solid recipe for me. Liked it.
Beetlejuice (1988) - Liked this one less than I thought I would. I find that 80s pop classics usually resonate with me, but this movie was just okay. Still glad to have seen it, since it's at least a minor 80s fixture, but I didn't love it.
Them! (1954) - Interesting movie that I've been wanting to see for some time. The aesthetic of this movie really worked for me. Enjoyed it a lot.
9 to 5 (1980) - I decided that I owed it to myself as a Tennessean to see at least one Dolly Parton movie. This one was the very definition of a "cute" movie. Good, lighthearted comedy if you somehow find yourself at a shortage of those, but nothing essential.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) - In preparation to see Isle of Dogs, my girlfriend insisted I see Mr. Anderson's previous stop motion work. Fox was all right. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Okay movie.
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) - Another movie I saw at my significant other's behest, Kiki's is a thoroughly pleasant family movie. I look forward to checking out some more Miyazaki works.
Alien (1979) - Maybe my favorite movie of this whole update, Alien is superb. Good pacing, great setting, strong plot. And of course, the iconic beast. Loved it.

2018 films
Black Panther (2018) - This is the strongest Marvel movie I've seen perhaps ever. I really enjoyed its willingness to tackle some thought-provoking subjects with relative deftness. The action hero stuff, to me, was secondary. Good movie.
Isle of Dogs (2018) - This movie was all right. Artful aesthetic and cute moments, but nothing that really grabbed me. I enjoyed it, but not immensely.

[The Shoemaker]

Black Panther (2018) - This is the strongest Marvel movie I've seen perhaps ever. I really enjoyed its willingness to tackle some thought-provoking subjects with relative deftness. The action hero stuff, to me, was secondary. Good movie.

To go further, I actually felt the action hero stuff brought down the movie. The concepts were so intriguing, and I wish the conflict of "tell the world" or "keep our secrets" was expanded on even more. The action ending was well done, but felt a bit contrived.

Spoiler

I also felt the transition of Killmonger challenging T'Challa needed more time. I wanted to see what every one thought about a foreigner challenging the throne, but they skipped right to acceptance. That really took me out of the movie.

It ended up being an almost great movie to me - so close.