May 21 - May 28
Virus :32, Soft and Quiet, Falling Down, Hustle, GoldenEye, Final Destination, A Fantastic Woman
- Virus :32 [2022] - 84
This is a mostly great, small-budget horror that clearly draws a lot from 2002's landmark, 28 Days Later. I won't give away the twist here, but know that, despite the clear 28 Days influences, it's plenty interesting and very original. The issue with this film is that it pulls a punch that trivializes most of the tension and doesn't quite build enough of an interesting world by the end. That said, this film features some absolutely stellar single-take shots and is otherwise very effective.
- Soft and Quiet [2022] - 61
This film has an excellent premise and a truly fantastic opening sequence. Like some of my favorite parts of the above film, Soft and Quiet is edited to seem as though the entire thing is a single-take. It's really a fun technique to watch. Though, beyond that, it leans a little too far into its intent and forgets to translate some of that into actual meaning. A few too many unbelievable characters really drown what could otherwise have been a strikingly poignant film. I understand what it wanted and I think what it wanted was good... I'm just not sure it was effective.
- Falling Down [1993] - 65
A film about the daily grind and what it might feel like to just let everything we're feeling out on the world around us, Falling Down tries to pack a few too many ideas into a slightly 2-dimensional package. While most of the film's sentiments are still relevant 30 years later, thus making it even more of a tragedy than I think it intended to be, there's definitely a few pieces missing to glue the narrative together and it comes across a bit forgettable. I'd love to have seen this one when it released and been able to judge it against that context instead of my own.
- Hustle [2022] - 78
If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Hustle is a basketball drama starring Adam Sandler and Juancho Hernangomez. Sandler is a scout, Hernangomez is a streetball player with a family. Sandler goes behind his boss' back to bring Hernangomez to a tryout... You get it. The movie is far from bad in any way, it's just formulaic. If you like these kinds of feel-good, underdog stories, you'll love it. If you're tired of them, you won't. I happen to like them sometimes.
- GoldenEye [1995] - 68
Putting any kind of number or critically reviewing a James Bond film feels silly at best and pompous at worst. But, here we are. GoldenEye is plenty of fun if you can enjoy a silly spy thriller with some excellent driving scenes, a great and unique soundtrack, and some pretty bad editing. Sean Bean is in this one and, if you haven't seen it, you probably don't need me to tell you how that goes for him.
- Final Destination [2000] - 70
I promise anyone who reads these and is concerned for my wellbeing that I will not be marathoning all the FD movies like I did the Fast and Furious ones. That being said, I did re-watch the first one this week, and it's largely just as fine as I remember. A little bland at parts, but featuring a few really excellent kill scenes, Final Destination is one of a handful of films that I think really benefitted from being made when it was. It would look worse, sound worse, and be way, WAY more stupid if it was made today. Not a masterpiece by any means, but plenty serviceable.
- A Fantastic Woman [2017] - 75
A film about a woman and the disgraces she is made to face when her partner suddenly dies... simply because she is transgender. This, similar to the above Soft and Quiet, is an important film with a lot of important things to say. While I don't think this was ineffective as a whole, I do think there's a certain lack of bite here. There are a handful of scenes that are absolutely masterful in their presentation, though they're largely drowned out by the way much of the film drones on. Still a somewhat early work, I look forward to what director, Sebastián Lelio, develops in the future as he clearly has his heart in the right place
