At Eternity's Gate (2018)

Despite Dafoe being about 30 years older than Van Gogh was at this period, I bought him in the role. I loved the insights into his compulsion to paint -- the film posits that he knew it to be his purpose, even as it damaged relationships and pushed him toward madness.

I did experience immediate irritation at the framing/shooting of this film -- shaky, forced angles, odd focus, as though they're making a movie about art impressionism INTO impressionism (ugh) -- but the movie itself was too good to be completely ruined by these quirks. I just wish the director had trusted the power of the story being told, as well as the talents of his star, and simply allowed the camera to capture it cleanly rather than forcing the camerawork to be part of it.

B-

Roma (2018)

Cleo is a live-in domestic worker in '70s Mexicos. The middle-class family for whom she works both loves her and takes her for granted. Stuff happens: the family's marriage breaks up, Cleo gets pregnant, there's a big multi-family party, an even bigger fire, and some kind of civil war happening at one point.

But, with all that, it's a slog. A very pretty bore.

C

Vice (2018)

All of the tricks that worked so well for McKay when he employed them for The Big Short are back on display here, but they don't feel as fresh as they did the first time around. Though I'm the choir being preached to here, the only thing this film accomplished was to give me some understanding for Dick. I came away thinking that all he did was to exploit faults inherent in our political machine (e.g. the vice president being an appointed position). That's on us.

The best thing here was Amy Adams' no-nonsense portrayal of Lynn Cheney.

C+

The Whistleblower (2011)

A cop takes a peace-keeping gig in post-war Bosnia to make a chunk of cash quick. She soon discovers that a lot of the ills the Americans are supposedly working to right are being exacerbated by -- and sometimes directly because of -- their presence in the country. It's a devastating tale of sex trafficking and the dangers of speaking up.

This story deserves to be told... but better than this. There's no reason it needed to be so tedious and confusing. I also can't see any reason that so many British actors were called on to portray Americans.

D+

The Wife (2018)

From the trailers it looked like a scream-fest, which made this another "Oh crap, it's been nominated. Now I have to watch it" movies for me.

But wow. This was not just a powerhouse performance by Glenn Close, it was a brilliant story that almost functioned as a mystery. We see flashbacks to provide the couple's history and start to piece together what it all means but, until the very end, we can't be sure we know what we think we do.

Also: Close should win that Oscar.

A