Movie review catch-up

The holidays are a time when many people like to watch a good feature film (not just Christmas themed classics - I have that list too). Here are some suggestions. I'll go in order of my ratings, starting with the only one I feel I can give a 9/10 to:

Anora One way to describe a movie is to create its cocktail from other movies. I think Anora has its base in the old Cinderella story with a contemporary setting like Pretty Woman, made potent by a strong young woman with New York street-smarts telling it like it is [My Cousin Vinny], rocketed into motion with the chaos and frantic inertia of Parasite, mixed with the magic bittersweet taste that we’ve seen from this other moviemaker [Quentin Tarantino], may I present the captivating, powerful, scary, funny and heartfelt cinematic treat called Anora. Plus it has a superb use of Blondie's hit Dreaming. I was so happy for their Oscar wins for best movie, director, actress, supporting actor, and original screenplay. I made this review video after seeing this wonderful independent movie:

And then the ones I've rated 8 since my last movie review post (March 2024).

One Battle After Another Dicaprio and Penn were superb. I had trouble categorizing it - IMDb helped named the thing - dark comedy. The visuals for the last car chase was mind blowing. Definitely Tarantino-like. Rich characters. Del Toro was such a warm welcome relief. Crazy scenes like the fall from the roof, long shots maybe like the tunnel escape and the house with all the illegal immigrants. Very scary interrogation scenes without being violent. Scary show of military power over helpless citizens. Odd amount of vaping by Bob. Whacky scenes with Penn and the secret codes. White supremacy underworld felt a little misaligned. 

A Complete Unknown I loved the chronology and intersection with other musicians and genres. I felt it explains Dylan well. There's was a connection here to an artist who appreciates change. Chalamet (like Joie in Maria - see below) was captivating and thoroughly believable…it created a new attraction to Dylan and I quickly created a playlist on Apple Music capturing what I feel are his greatest hits.

Emilia Pérez What a wonderful story. But the cast made this such a fantastic film. And would you believe there was singing and dancing. So many beautiful film moments.  This has to win some awards. A true rollercoaster of plot and emotions taking us to all kinds a colourful places, while so very carefully threading the needle of such a creative epic piece of filmmaking. I really did love the songs that provided moments or tenderness as well as heightened drama. From my social media feed "I loved this highly creative, dramatic and entertaining film. The story and the actresses are just so powerful and beautifully layered", and after reading The Oscars love Emilia Pérez. Why does everyone else hate it? I added "I’m sticking with my comments about Emilia Pérez, I loved this highly creative, dramatic and entertaining film. The story and the actresses are just so powerful and beautifully layered… but I’ve read some of the negativity and understand their POVs"

Living Satisfying in a multitude of ways. Beautifully captured scenes and the pacing of the story and every single line of dialogue was a delight. Double down with thoughtful care of a story and surfacing a simple, but important message. Superb cast, costume and colour. Loved it all. I just watched the trailer from Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru and happy to see the references and mesmerized by the emotional weight. Back to the newer version - something I really admired was the artistry of omission - leaving the audience to fill in the missing pieces and complete the sentences. There is simply a lot to learn as a filmmaker from this wonderful film or you could just choose to sit back and wear another man’s hat for a little glimpse into a lovely world. 

The Substance I expected something dark and gruesome, but it this was over the top. WOW. There are very few people I could recommend this to. Like Barbie + American Werewolf in London + The Elephant Man + Carrie. Perfect horror with a message for the times. Incredible SFX and makeup.  Moore was stupendous and scary as hell. The spiral into complete madness (understandably) distracted me from the moral of the story. I’m not sure if I could ever watch it again.  

The Blue Angels When I was young I wanted to be a pilot. The idea vanished a long time ago, but looking out the window of an airliner puts a smile on my face. Attending an air show is a true delight and never gets old. This movie is a must see for those who may have dreamed of being a pilot or simply can’t resist an air show. The precision and team work at all levels of personnel within the Blue Angels “command” is incredibly impressive. The filming was gorgeous and captures the action like I’ve never seen before. It’s all draped in a big Stars and Stripes, but somethings, Americans just do so well. Some would dare to think some of it is corny, but what they do requires a huge amount of commitment and courage. Rock solid production.  

The Menu So so tasty.  Perfect service and ambiance.   Tasty courses for fans of the genre.  Onions were peeled, lives destructed, reality served cold but the feeling was very hot indeed. 

Hit Man I enjoyed every minute. Well, it did get pretty intense at times, but the ride was superb.  Carefully woven story around some very deep philosophy.  Wonderfully acted, perfect supporting crew. The only thing I’m not a fan of is the title. Highly recommended. 

Fall Guy Superb. Great cast, including the real stunt men and especially Hannah W. Incredible stunts as you can imagine. The humour was perfectly timed the chemistry was beautiful.

Roman Holiday We visited Rome for the first time this year and watched it after our trip. Suzanne had seen it before, I had  never seen it. It was delightful - Audrey Hepburn was incredible and Gregory Peck was perfect -  it was a lovely story. Towards the end...(my review contains spoilers but you can see it on IMDB - my username is homefan.

Maria Played like its own tragic opera. Jolie was captivating and thoroughly believable. So many arias and operatic pieces brought back memories of when I fell in love with opera. Although I rarely listen today, this may rekindle my attraction to this more difficult of music forms. I think I may visit the opera again soon, adding to just two live performances I’ve seen previously - La Boheme (Toronto Sony Centre) and La Traviatta at The Met.

Other movies I rated 8/10 but I didn't write a review for:

  

Movies I rated 7/10 that I found time to write reviews for and that are worth mentioning:

She Rides Shotgun Powerful film. It had its faults, maybe the violence was a little excessive, but the massive performances were riveting. Well paced with some unexpected moves. A transformative role for Egerton and a standout job by the marvellous 12 year old Ana Sophia Heger.

Wicked: Part I Much better than I expected. Maybe because there wasn’t many songs!  The dancing was good and costumes wonderful.  The story weaved well with the foundation and folk lore.  It was too long and I wasn’t pleased to see it was just part 1 but I’ll give it a 7 for solid entertainment. 

Nonnas So lovely. Recommended by my mum and teased lovingly. Add a base ingredient of Vince Vaughn and it was irresistible. It didn’t disappoint the palate and was a perfect recipe of a hearty film with memorable flavours. Delizioso.

Lastly, a few others that I rated 7/10 that may not be on your radar:

 

You can see ALL my rating here.