Jack Henry's Year in Film - Week 1
As we began 2018 I, like most people, looking at the New Year as a motivation for transformation (seriously, that should be on a poster at a gym), made sort of an impulsive decision. I decided to watch a different movie every day of the work week, Monday to Friday, and then write a short review of each of them for a whole year. My desire is, one, as a filmmaker, to watch many different types of movies, both good and bad, and learn from them, explore a wide variety of ideas and cultures through film, and apply the things I’ve learned to my own projects, and two, to practice my writing, to get better at explaining why I like the movies I like. I expect the first couple batches to be a little messy as I explore and discover my writing style but I hope you enjoy the journey with me.
WEEK 1
MONDAY (1/1) - The Long Goodbye (to 2017) - Robert Altman
Perhaps it’s fitting for this to be the first movie on my list as we say “Goodbye!” to 2017. I’ve always had a soft spot for Noir films (The Third Man, The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, Chinatown, Brick, The Big Lebowski) and this one definitely does not let down. Elliot Gould gives Humphrey Bogart a run for his money as Philip Marlowe, THE smooth talking gumshoe detective. Marlowe seems to emanate from Gould; all the dry witticism, the cool, Gould exudes perfectly. But I have to praise the rest of the cast too: Nina van Pallandt as femme fatale Eileen Wade, Mark Rydell as the explosive Marty Augustine, Arnold Schwarzenegger as uncredited non-speaking goon, but, perhaps my favorite goes to, Sterling Hayden as, the drunken author, Roger Wade (who reminds me a little of John Huston’s character from Chinatown mixed with Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood). The cast is excellent, the writing and dialogue are exceptionally witty, and the twist at the end…BUT I cannot go without talking about the excellent soundtrack. John Williams composes the titular theme for this film and it’s played over and over and over diegetically, and as different genres, from car radio to supermarket muzak to solo piano jazz played in a seedy bar. It’s really the perfect soundtrack for a film that explores so well the eccentric diversity of 70s Hollywood.
MY RATING: 9.5/10
TUESDAY (1/2) - Lion - Garth Davis
The opening scene of Lion, with the young Saroo standing in a whirlwind of butterflies, haloed by the morning sun, has to be one of the most beautifully shot sequences I’ve seen in a long time. It’s quiet, only the ambient sounds of the Indian countryside are present, and the scene itself is short, a little less than twenty seconds. The cinematography of this film is masterfully done but it is especially so in the beginning. Most of its shots are wide and the reason is twofold: to show off the exquisite scenery of India, and to make our protagonist feel small and helpless when he gets lost in a foreign land. The young actor that plays Saroo does an excellent job of expressing his innocence both in wonder of the world around him and in the fear of unfamiliar chaos. The rest of the cast does a satisfactory job, especially Nicole Kidman and David Wenham as Saroo’s adoptive parents, who both emanate warm tenderness. Now, I will say, I love Rooney Mara, she’s probably one of my favorite actresses in the game, but to me she felt poorly used as the “supportive girlfriend”. And I felt the same way about Dev Patel as the older Saroo. Much of the second half of the film is him brooding, looking at Google Earth, and except for the scenes of him following his brother Guddu through memories, which were very well done, the second half felt lacking in emotional depth. Yes, the second half to me felt messy and unfocused compared to the first and I also wasn’t a huge fan of the soundtrack as a whole (especially that awful poppy credits song) but I enjoyed the film as a whole and it being a true story is incredibly inspiring.
MY RATING: 8/10
WEDNESDAY (1/3) - Get Out - Jordan Peele
When I first heard that Jordan Peele of Key & Peele was writing and directing a horror movie I was, justifiably, a little doubtful. I will say now, I was pleasantly surprised. Now, I’ve been a big fan of the recent surge of metaphorical horror and social thrillers (i.e. The Babadook, It Follows) and Peele’s directoral debut easily takes rank with the best of them. Peele’s dramatic writing is impressive and is greatly complimented by the performance of Daniel Kaluuya (who I’ve only seen in Sicario and that episode of Black Mirror). I also have to give credit to Caleb Landry Jones, as the girlfriend’s brother, who was instantly creepy the moment he set foot on screen. The score of the film was well done especially the “theme” played in the opening and ending credits. It’s sort of bluesy, folksy, featuring Swahili voices and it is creepy as hell (listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koeBsCFJIjA). Now, my problems with this film come close to the end. Where the first three fourths of the film build upon the unsettlingly plausible, the climax, unfortunately, toes the line of zany. I also felt that the humor, while funny, didn’t compliment the tone of the film. All in all, though, Peele has proven himself to be both a talented writer and director especially when it comes to a film built on social commentary and I look forward to his future projects.
MY RATING: 8/10
THURSDAY (1/4) - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg
I’ll keep this real short…
THE GOOD: Javier Bardem, Faramir, Paul McCartney, guillotine scene, star island.
THE BAD: literally everything else.
QUESTIONS: How many different types of dead people are there in this universe? How come Jack keeps “losing” the Black Pearl? Why is Davy Jones back (unfortunately not David Bowie)? Why are they still making these movies?
MY RATING: 3/10
FRIDAY (1/5) - Zero Dark Thirty - Kathryn Bigelow
There are a lot of things I could say about this film: the strong writing and directing, a superb ensemble cast, how well it slowly feeds us facts to build the mystery and increase tension, the chaotic yet quiet climax. BUT this film belongs to Jessica Chastain. She controls the audience with demanding ferocity. It’s impossible to look away as she dominates the screen. This film; the plot, the dialogue, the rest of the cast; owes itself to the excellence and versatility of Jessica Chastain.
MY RATING - 9/10
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.