November 25, 2016 - Quick Movie Reviews!
I acknowledge that it's been about a month since I posted my update and have not written anything new. New things have come up and it's been difficult. But I've seen so many films in the meantime I might as well talk about as many of them as I can. So prepare for a huge influx of small reviews...
MOANA (B)Follows its formula strictly, but there's a spirit of fun that completely bolsters this film. Lin-Manuel Miranda's original songs are great. Dwayne Johnson can sing? I don't know. See it.
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MOONLIGHT (A-)Absolutely riveting from start to finish. Incredibly performed, wonderfully scored, and absolutely haunting. It's impact didn't hit me as hard as it did everyone else, but there's no denying that this is a moving film.
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TROLLS (C+)A little too cutesy for my taste, and a little too derivative of every other animated film aimed at kids, but it's got a solid message and the film's animation is excellent. It's like a children's fairy tale infused with a little bit of acid. I've never done acid. But I assume it would feel/look like this.
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EVOLUTION (A-)Lucile Hadzihalilovic's only film in the past ten years will undoubtedly divide audiences, and it's not the kind of thing I usually go for, but I dug this! It's a strange film, pumped with surreal and haunting imagery, that I still have yet to get out of my head.
AMERICAN HONEY (A)I am utterly in love with this film. It's three captivating, luminous, moving hours of Sasha Lane, the film's breakout star, navigating life as a disadvantaged millennial. Also, I love Andrea Arnold's depiction of millennials. I know they all look trashy and miserable, but there's not an iPhone in sight!
ARRIVAL (B+)The rare breed of brainy, suspenseful Hollywood sci-fi films. I hesitate to call this film "Hollywood" because it's a lot better than that. Amy Adams is excellent. It's got a brain and a heart. And, the film's visuals are absolutely mindblowing.
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AQUARIUS (B+)Sonia Braga gives an Awards-friendly performance here in this layered, nostalgia-infused tale of fighting the power and fighting for what's right. Also, for a film about a 65-year-old woman being forced out of her apartment, there's a surprising amount of graphic sex.
HACKSAW RIDGE (B)I can't tell if Andrew Garfield's performance is weird or kinda good. Anyways, it's pretty riveting cinema until it wears out its welcome.
LOVING (B-)Anchored by two outstanding lead performances, especially Ruth Negga, it's a straightfoward tale of forbidden love that's almost blandly told by Jeff Nichols.
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CERTAIN WOMEN (B-)Kelly Reichardt's latest effort is restrained to a fault. There's a lot of good performances here, but Reichardt is so subtle in her storytelling that the payoff is mostly unsatisfying. It's not a wholly unsatisfying effort, and its themes are identifiable, but it's all a little too nuanced. If we take anything away from this film, it's Lily Gladstone!
THE HANDMAIDEN (A-)A twisty, turny, technically precise, oddly romantic, shockingly graphic lesbian love story. So many twists! So many turns! I don't have much more to say about this, but see it.
THE BIRTH OF A NATION (C-)Has there ever been a film so overhyped and so disappointing? I keep forgetting I saw this underwhelming piece of cinema. There's some solid performances I guess, and the last half hour is quite engaging, but the rest is blah.
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