Jack Henry's Year in Film - Week 2
First off, I’d like to apologize for the late post but I had a super busy weekend and zero writing time. I drove down to Austin with Zach to visit our friend Ross and to see Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest film Phantom Thread in 70mm. I’ll be saving the review for Week 3 but I will say it was totally worth the sixteen hours roundtrip.
Without further ado:
WEEK 2
MONDAY (1/8) - Solaris - Andrei Tarkovsky
I think if I was ever to recommend a Tarkovsky film to a first time viewer, I would probably have to pick Solaris. To even the most seasoned viewers Tarkovsky can be a daunting task. His film are notoriously slow (but still well paced), filled with profound metaphorical symbolism, philosophical dialogue, lengthy scenes of characters staring into space (or directly at the camera); an invitation for the viewer to step into a meditative trance, only asking you to accept a visual experience unlike any other. And Solaris is no different, but it feels a little more rooted in our own commonality. Solaris is an exceptional psychological sci-fi film, and I think I would highlight “psychological” over “sci-fi”. Aesthetically it can be called a companion to the excellent 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick, but the overall feel of the films are very different. While 2001 heavily employs the loneliness of space, fear in the void of nothingness, a paralyzing agoraphobia, Solaris utilizes claustrophobia. The characters in this movie suffer from stifling cabin fever and Solaris, the titular planet they orbit, takes advantage of that. The protagonist of this film, Kris Kelvin, begins to see his late wife and we find out that the planet has recreated her from Kelvin’s memory; she’s a physical being as the two other crew mates can interact with her, but she is restricted by Kelvin’s memory of her. The film has some utterly creepy moments as it builds tension, but also has some exquisitely beautiful ones. There’s an incredibly short but beautiful scene where the gravity goes out in the space station and Kelvin and his wife quietly cling to each other. It’s as if they’re dancing in zero gravity. It is truly a film about love and what it means; do we love the person or simply the idea of them?
MY RATING - 9/10
TUESDAY (1/9) - The Men Who Stare at Goats - Grant Heslov
The Men Who Stare at Goats is a movie about a journalist, played by Ewan McGregor, who goes on a journey into the heart of Iraq with an ex-special forces operative, played by George Clooney. Now (title not included) with just that, this sounds like kind of a serious movie…NOPE! Clooney’s character was once part of a special branch of the military, its intention: to create a special force of psychic spies (spychic, pspyies?) called…wait for it…Jedi. At one point Ewan’s character seems to not really get the reference to Star Wars (made funnier by the fact that he literally played Obi-Wan Kenobi). WHAT? Is this a universe where Star Wars doesn’t exist? Considering, Ewan makes a Lord of the Rings reference earlier in the film, how does he not understand a reference to the most iconic film franchise of all time? Perhaps this is secretly a Kenobi origin story…I don’t know. Moving on, Jeff Bridges returns as a parallel reality version of “The Dude” Lebowski (not really) if he had been drafted and sent off to Vietnam instead of staying in college and “occupying various administration buildings, smoking a lot of Thai stick, and breaking into the ROTC and bowling”, well, this character probably still smoked a lot of Thai stick. Also, Nick Offerman shows up in a small role as a, shaven, bright eyed young Padawan. The ending is pretty fun when Ewan and Bridges lace the dining hall eggs with LSD and the entire army camp begins to stumble around in hallucination. Ewan sits, sipping water and feeling proud of himself, until Bridges leans over subtly and whispers, “I put it in the water too.” Now, while this film has a lot going for it for some reason I couldn’t get into it. The first three quarters of the movie are unfortunately slow and messy. Now, since this was my first viewing, perhaps I’m just missing it. I did feel the same way after watching films such as The Big Lebowski and Inherent Vice but on subsequent viewing have found a lot more joy in those films. Maybe I’ll enjoy this one more the second time and I’ll apologize to the cult followers and change my score. Someone did once tell me this movie felt like a bad Coen brothers’ film, but at least a bad Coen brothers’ film is still directed by the Coen brothers. Oh well…
MY RATING - 5/10
WEDNESDAY (1/10) - Sing Street - John Carney
Now, perhaps I’m just a sucker for feel good movies about music but man, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Set in 80s Ireland, young Conor’s world begins to change when his parents announce their separation and due to financial pressure is forced to change schools. Conor becomes the “new kid” and must learn to deal with the lack of friends, the bullies, and an authoritarian principle. One day after school Conor meets the cool, edgy, Raphina and is instantly smitten. The only logical thing to do next would be to start a band with hopes to impress her, and he does just that, calling on the aid of several other school outcasts. Thankfully they somehow manage to be good, even with their total lack of experience. Now, the plot is by no means original, in fact it is very cliché, but there is something about it that makes it feel fresh. The young cast is great, the protagonist reminds me of a young Lennon/McCartney who grows into sort of a Ziggy Stardust. Jack Reynor, who looks like the illegitimate child of Seth Rogan and Chris Pratt, is excellent as Conor’s older brother and Lucy Boynton, who plays Raphina, is wonderful at displaying sadness behind her glamorous facade. The music is enjoyable, and honestly if you’re a fan of the 80s and coming-of-age stories, I highly recommend this. It’s a lot of fun while still providing a lot of heart.
MY RATING - 8.5/10
THURSDAY (1/11) - Swiss Army Man - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Starting out this film has sort of similar set up to Robinson Crusoe or Castaway. Paul Dano, stuck on a deserted island, plays the Robinson Crusoe or Tom Hanks character and instead of Friday or Wilson we get Daniel Radcliffe’s flatulent corpse. Yes, Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse that continuously farts and Dano uses this to his advantage: Radcliffe becomes a makeshift motor boat to help him get off the first island. As the movie progresses Dano discovers more abilities from Radcliffe’s corpse such as fresh water that flows from his mouth, and a, uh…way…to use him as a compass. I’ll be up front: this movie’s freaking weird and is definitely not for most people. I somehow found a lot of enjoyment out of Paul Dano carrying around Daniel Radcliffe and using him to survive. I think it skillfully purveys themes of loneliness and social awkwardness in our modern society. Also, the score is really something special. It’s completely a cappella and becomes sort of a pseudo-musical when the characters start to sing along which is a lot of fun.
MY RATING - 8/10
FRIDAY (1/12) - Hell or High Water - David Mackenzie
Hell or High Water easily takes ranks as one of the best Western movies in the last decade, and those are some large boots to fill considering it stands next to the likes of There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, The Assassination of Jesse James, and True Grit. Now it might be my least favorite on that list but it is nonetheless a great neo-Western. The cast is simply outstanding: Jeff Bridges, who I adore, plays the old, pessimistic, codger Texas Ranger who's about to retire, and Gil Birmingham plays his quiet partner who's tired of his shit. They’re sent to track down two bank robbing brothers played by Chris Pine and Ben Foster. Pine sheds any and all resemblance to a certain charismatic space captain and perfectly becomes the brooding brains of the operation. Foster is excellent; he can somehow be outrageously funny one moment and then detonate into explosive rage the next. I also really appreciate how this film approaches violence. In a day and age of over dramatization and trivialization Hell or High Water stands out. The moments of violence are quick and serious, over in a second, and there is no glorification to something so brutal. In a lot of ways this film holds onto the roots of old Westerns even more so than the others that I mentioned but the ending diverges. No, the hero does’t ride off into the sunset this time, there is no glory, only the cruel acceptance of letting go. Perhaps that’s what the “The West” is about these days.
MY RATING - 8.5/10
As I will have to watch a little over 250 movies this year I would greatly appreciate some suggestions. Feel free to leave some in the comment section. Or if you want a recommendation don’t hesitate to ask.