I watched 7 movies last week:
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- “Conversations about what ties the films [in Kinds of Kindness] together thematically,” writes Brian Tallerico “may end in frustration. Still, the one thing that undeniably unites them is Lanthimos’ mastery of tone, making another film that’s alternately hysterical and terrifying, even when it puts up walls against interpretation.” There’s a lot going on here, and it’s hard to argue that all of it is successful, but it’s oddly compelling.
- Oddity is very creepy and frightening, although decidedly less so once you understand what’s actually going on. The narrative becomes a little unfocused, even as plot reveals itself.
- There’s still a little of the Masterpiece Theatre television movie it was originally intended to be about it, but Mrs. Brown has two wonderful standout performances by Judi Dench and Billy Connolly.
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- There’s a little of giallo to The Evil Eye, hence its reputation as the first giallo film, but it feels much more indebted to Hitchcock, right down to its alternate title, The Girl Who Knew Too Much. It’s a very stylish, sometimes very silly, Italian Hitchcock knockoff. And if it’s story doesn’t really hold up under a lot of scrutiny, it’s still a lot of fun.
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop isn’t entirely unsalvageable as idea; just because that idea is dumb and derivative doesn’t mean it couldn’t also be fun. But the movie isn’t any fun. It has barely one joke and it runs that into the ground. James is a likable enough sad sack, and the movie has some heart (or at least sentimentality), but what it doesn’t have very much of is laughs.
- Seize the Day is exceptionally bleak, but there are good performances in it, particularly an early dramatic role by Robin Williams.
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an enjoyable enough sequel, and I’d genuinely like to see more films that pick up these strands in the new series.
I also re-watched a couple of movies:
- Do the Right Thing—which is no less electric now than it was thirty-five years ago, which makes its having been shut out of the Oscars in favor of Driving Miss Daisy all the more shocking
- To Catch a Killer—technically a miniseries, but short enough I think it qualifies. One of the things I like about it is that, while Dennehy’s performance is very compelling, it’s never about John Wayne Gacy, about who he was or what made him a killer, but about the pursuit to arrest him and finally get justice for his victims.