There's so much right about Lady Bird. It's hilarious, first of all. Much more so than I expected. I laughed out loud multiple times while watching it. And it's a quick-witted movie too, but not in an unrealistic Aaron Sorkin way (not to knock Sorkin). The comparison that comes to mind is Juno. Both are about quirky high school girls who talk fast and get into self-made awkward...
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4.5 and 5 Star Reviews
Review – mother!
Dare I say it? This is a movie about…everything. About life, and death; creation and the apocalypse. About our world, and the destruction of nature as a result of humanity’s greed. It’s about inspiration, and God, and obsession, and art, and the darkness and goodness of humanity. It’s about war. It’s about healing. It’s about the possibility of burning everything ...
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Micro Review – The Shape of Water
This shouldn’t work. But it does. It’s a movie about a mute woman who meets an amphibious/man creature. I’m not a huge Del Toro fan, but The Shape of Water is charming, it’s relevant. It’s strange, and magical, and romantic. The musical score is fantastical and lovely. I think part of what makes this movie feel magical – like a messed up fairy tale – is the way it...
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Review – Phantom Thread
I think this might be brilliant. After finishing it, all I could do was think back over the course of the entire movie, picking it apart in my mind, trying to remember why something happened, or what something looked like, or how something sounded, what something might have tasted like. I feel like I not only HAVE to see this movie again, but I WANT to see it agai...
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Micro Review – Blade Runner 2049
What a visually stunning movie. One of the best-looking movies I’ve seen recently. It somehow manages to retain the feel of the original film while also staying cutting edge and gritty. It’s probably a bit too long. And the plot feels convoluted at times, mostly because it’s trying to be abstract. If there’s not another sequel in the works, I’d question some of the story el...
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Review – Call Me By Your Name
This is a film that stimulates the senses. It takes place in Italy, in the summer, in 1983. You can feel the sweat beading on your neck and navel, you can hear the trickle of fountains and the chirping of birds, you can smell the apricots in the trees and the summer breeze skipping across the watering holes. This is a film that transports you into its atmosphere. It’s a fil...
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Movie Rewatch – Dunkirk
I’ll keep this short and sweet. Upon re-watching Dunkirk, I now believe that it is a masterpiece. The first time you watch it, you’re on the edge of your seat the whole time. It’s breathtaking. And stressful. It’s a visceral experience – especially if you’re lucky enough to see it in the theater in widescreen. After I left the movie theater, the first time I saw it in the s...
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Micro Review – The Post
The Post has a way of lulling you into nostalgia. Stylistically, Mr. Spielberg employs his most traditional sensibilities. This is not a flashy movie (which we know he is certainly capable of). And I think there’s a reason for this. The subject of the movie is, after all, the Washington Post’s coverage of the leaked Pentagon Papers in 1971. Back then, The Post was not a hou...
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Review – Mudbound
Wow, I was not expecting that. Maybe the fact that it was a Netflix movie made me think it would be something different. But what a hard-hitting, emotionally affecting film. I was really impressed with the execution here. We hop from intimate moment to intimate moment, somehow effortlessly. It helps to paint a picture that is both micro and macro at the same time, exploring...
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Review – Inside Llewyn Davis
Halfway through watching Inside Llewyn Davis I wrote down a couple notes of what I was thinking of the movie, and how I’d think of it at the end (having thought I’d already pegged what kind of a movie it would be). But after watching the whole movie, those notes I had are completely invalid. I suppose I shouldn’t have gotten ahead of myself, considering this is a Coen Broth...
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