Blue is the Warmest Color– This movie was overshadowed in my head by the purported liberties the director took with the young actresses. I could barely pay attention to the plot which felt a bit long. It’s disingenuous to create a long uneventful film but punctuate it with intense sex and have that be the selling point of the movie. Watch Instead: The Handmaiden C6 A4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wave- Foreign Disaster movies are a bit underwhelming at times. The can tend to focus more on human relationships and less on destroying national monuments so it just doesn’t hold my attention. I was raised by Roland Emmerich (a foreigner, ironically) on how one should destroy a town, city, planet, etc. Plus, water disaster movies are the worst. Wave happens, deal with aftermath. You need a good Dante’s Peak to really set everything on fire or better yet, asteroids. They cause all problems at once or in a row. One Good Thing: It was a pretty sweet wave. C5 A6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Spin- Ping pong competitions. It’s fine. There are so many documentaries. No Spurlock in this one. I don’t know, he might have been in the background somewhere filming a different documentary about Chinese Citizens forced to appear in documentaries about ping pong competitions. C6 A5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turbo Kid– Heard a lot of good things about this and was generally underwhelmed. Michael Ironside was really doing his best. The genre of “future throw backs” has been popping up recently and I find it hit-or-miss probably because I grew up in the era so it will always look a little off. One Good Thing: Great production design and costumes. Watch Instead: Kung Fury C6 A6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cemetary of Splendor- This is an extremely methodical and plodding film with moments of great color and form. This is a slow conversation movie where people sleep a lot. That is not an exaggeration or criticism but a matter of fact.  Critics seems to love it for all the filmic elements involved but there’s little for the passive viewer to thoroughly enjoy. I really liked moments but overall didn’t walk away with much other than the excellent Thailand setting. C7 A4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manchester by The Sea-Had this movie come out after the Weinstein story broke, I think the outcome would have been much different. Things can either get swept under a rug or placed on a pedestal depending on who has faith (or stakes) in its odds of winning. Casey may not have survived his previous scandal that he settled out of court for had it been revealed ten months later.

I asked a guy from Boston what he thought about the movie and his response was “the town?” I didn’t know ‘Manchester by the Sea’ is actually the name of a town. It was a confusing conversation and he hadn’t seen it anyway so it was pointless. Controversy aside, there aren’t many movies like this and everyone involved brings their best. Michelle Williams is an underrated powerhouse. C7 A7

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Valley of Violence-There’s something about westerns filmed on digital that just don’t do it for me. Can’t explain it but they just don’t look right. Everything looks fake because there’s no grain to hide the sheen. I’m not saying that it can’t be done it’s just hard to emulate real film. John Travolta has a new take on an old trope which I enjoyed and Ethan Hawke does a good job at Old West John Wick. He embodies the aforementioned Western Hero ability of taking a beating and coming back stronger. Like Bone Tomahawk, some of the sets look a little too clean, too new but it’s an independent film so you have to pick and choose where you put your money. Also, I guess technically the sets should look new since it takes place when they were supposedly constructed.    C7 A6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assassin’s Creed- This one had promise and in spectacular fashion it did not deliver. It’s well known that movie adaptations of video games are cursed but I had high hopes here. Director Justin Kurzel, and actors Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard did so well with Macbeth that I thought this was a shoe-in. It’s a mess. I have a theory why these things fail but I won’t get into it. You can skip it. One Good Thing: Brendan Gleason is sneaking around this movie and some of the cinematography is excellent.Watch Instead: Macbeth C4 A5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK:

I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore-This week Sundance is once again descending on Utah so it seemed fitting that we talk about last year’s winner. This film took home top honors and though I’m happy for actor/director Macon Blair I just couldn’t be blown away by it. It seemed like a retaliatory vote for some underlying feeling at Sundance. I liken it to Moonlight winning Best Picture in 2017. You could easily explain why it’s an incredible movie but what propelled it to take top honors is most likely a weak field of contenders or political motivations.  Yet, it is such a solid directorial debut it’s unfair to say that it doesn’t deserve the hype. Blair has been a great actor and now he’s destined to be a great director. Between him, Greta Gerwig, and Jordan Peele 2017 was an excellent year for first time Directors. C7 A6