Tolkien (2019)

Covers the teens and early adulthood of JRR Tolkien. He lives in some kind of foster home situation (where he meets his eventual wife) and gets to go to a "good" school by the grace of a benefactor (where he forms a tight friendship with three other boys). He eventually makes it to Oxford on scholarship and then to war.

I'd call myself a casual fan of the Ring movies, but I never cared for Tolkien's actual writing. So, it's entirely possible that I'm simply not the target audience for this, but I was definitely hoping for something a bit more engaging. The most interesting bit came when he switched majors -- to language -- after the head of that department heard some of his invented Elvish. But there's barely 10 minutes of that.

I really can't imagine that fans would be any more entertained by this bare-bones accounting of his early life than I was. Maybe they would be out of loyalty... but probably not from the merits of the film itself.

C

The Big Heat (1953)

During the investigation of a colleague's suicide, straight-arrow cop Bannion becomes convinced that a crime syndicate is to blame and that some of the force is on their payroll.

It's got a great vibe and Gloria Grahame, as the girlfriend of the mob's top enforcer, is at her best. But there's a squareness to the telling -- it's all very black and white. And the burn makeup near the end of the film is downright laughable: it was actually peeling off around the edges.

B-

Accident (2009)

A team of four, led by "The Brain," choreograph elaborate plans in order to disguise paid assassinations as seemingly random accidents. When an accident befalls one of the team members during a hit and then his flat is burgled, The Brain suspects he's a victim of his own methods.

While I enjoyed this, I had a really hard time keeping everyone straight -- for a long time I thought The Brain was investigating the son of the team's final hit, but now I think he was after a different guy altogether. I was, honestly, pretty lost. It's difficult to be really into something that confused me this much.

C+

Wakefield (2017)

Howard Wakefield has a big job, an enviable home, a beautiful wife, all the comforts of suburban privilege, and a huge dose of apathy about it all. When he sees a raccoon scamper up the stairs to the storeroom above his garage, he follows it up there to chase it out -- and is taken by fact that he can see what's going on in the house from the storeroom's window. Before he knows it, he's spent the whole night there and makes the decision to stay and see what happens. It's pretty interesting to watch him learn the scavenging ropes and to see his family cope and thrive emotionally without him. 

Bryan Cranston is pretty perfect for the role -- there's nothing too awful about him, but he's difficult to truly embrace. He walks the tightrope of likable and annoying. The ending is frustrating, but I'm not sure that there could've been a way to end this without disappointing the viewer.

B

Supernova (2021)

Sam and Tusker (sidenote: what the hell kind of name is Tusker??) are on a nostalgic road trip. They've been together for a long time, but are facing the end of their relationship due to Tusker's dementia diagnosis. He's slipping away and they want to see people and places that figure heavily into their lives before he can no longer attach importance to them.

Nothing much happens, and that's OK. Or it would be alright if it felt like I was truly seeing intimate moments rather than playacting at intimate moments. I tried to explain it to myself -- that there's a feeling of pretense because Tusker's attempting to keep the mood light even though they're both despairing -- but I really think it's because the actors on screen were so ill-matched. Not that Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci can't be believable as a couple, but that Firth is so clearly the superior actor. He broke my heart.

B-

Blow the Man Down (2020)

After their mother dies, her two grown daughters assumed that their biggest hurdle would be figuring out what to do with the house and the fish shop she left behind. But when one kills a man in self-defense, they get pulled into the intrigue beneath the folksy surface of their small Maine town.

While I liked this quite a bit, it seemed to fall just short of being a home run. Near the end of the film, the sweet and perceptive policeman -- who'd been obviously smitten with one of the daughters throughout -- said "I don't like her anymore." And I kind of felt the same right at the end. It could've been great but it wound up being fine.

B

The Red Balloon (1956)

Sweet little story about a boy finding a balloon that behaves like a playful puppy. It bounces along behind the boy and stays put when told to do so. It's only when the other kids get involved that things get complicated.

There's really not much to it, but it was enough to make me smile.

B-

Lola Versus (2012)

We spend a year with Lola, starting on her 29th birthday. Her longtime boyfriend proposes and then breaks up with her just a few weeks before the wedding, which throws her life completely off-kilter. Her messy journey is believable and funny and heartbreaking. I could relate with the fact that removing a single bit of your life can make the rest of it so unstable -- the fact that one's life is just a jenga tower waiting to topple isn't clear until you're mid-wobble.

The film's success rests on Greta Gerwig's shoulders and she is, as ever, wonderful. I'd like to hang out with her.

B+

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

While I continue to be simply amazed at the way Cohen can trick people into exposing their horribleness, I really do not enjoy this cringey train-wreck stuff. It's incredible that he found such a willing partner for his shameless out-there shenanigans, but that's exactly what Maria Bakalova as daughter Tutar is. Watching this was almost like watching a horror movie -- I didn't want to see what was gonna happen next, and yet I couldn't look away. 

In short: I'm impressed but not entertained.

C

Mascots (2016)

Christopher Guest is subject to the same law of diminishing returns that plagues Wes Anderson: he keeps following the pattern that put him on the map, but the shtick is getting tired. Though the setting varies, he always hits the same awkwardly quirky beats -- and we often see the same actors going through the same paces, but in different outfits.

The only real fun here comes during the final mascot performances.

C-

The Quatermass Experiment (2005)

Quatermass -- an Elon Musk-type -- sees his private manned rocketship return to earth, but two of the three men aboard are missing and the third is wrong. While everyone's freaked out, they're not careful in the least. This is dumb dumb dumb. Clearly, I need to stop adding films to my queue simply because David Tennant is in them.

F

Boy Missing (2016)

The young son of a high-powered attorney is found dazed and wandering by the side of the road. When the suspected abductor cannot be held by police, the lawyer goes to the boy's uninvolved father for help.

This is a twisty-turny "what really happened?" movie. While competent, it never really takes off to become something more than its parts. I've seen this before and it's usually better.

B-

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

One of those "how have I never even heard of this" stories. Eight men are on trial for conspiring to incite violence via a riot during the 1968 DNC in Chicago. Though the lead prosecutor doesn't believe the charges have merit, he agrees to do what he can to seek convictions and the judge is clearly doing his part to make sure that happens as well.

It's a star-studded cast in a compelling story, which is good. But it's also by Aaron Sorkin, who tends to tell rather than show, which isn't quite as good. Regardless, the story is weirdly appropriate for our time and it's undeniably fascinating.

B+

Sound of Metal (2020)

Ruben, the drummer in a metal duo, suffers major and sudden hearing loss. Because he's a former addict, his bandmate/girlfriend is particularly concerned that it could cause a relapse, so he agrees to spend time at a facility to learn how to handle his new reality. Riz Ahmed turns in a gorgeous performance. His frustration, desperation, resistance and fear just hit me in the heart.

Gary and I discussed the film afterward, and I was just so sad and angry on Ruben's behalf. Are there really places like that facility? If so, why? I get how important immersion could be -- but I'm never in favor of separating a person from those they love when a crime isn't involved. Why not integrate family/lovers into the new reality as well? I'm sure I'm wrong... I mean, I'm no therapist... but the trajectory was inevitable. Just as in "Like Crazy," how can love be expected to overcome prolonged separation?

A-

Unknown Origins (2020)

A new detective is assigned an odd case in which an academic, missing for months, is found dead in a basement, newly muscle-bound, and grey. When another odd homicide turns up, it becomes clear that 1) there's a serial killer on the loose and 2) the comic store-owning son of a retiring detective has particular insight into the deaths.

What a curio of a film. It's like a very silly yet somehow self-serious version of Unbreakable. I was entertained.

B

The Report (2019)

Truly fascinating film about the "enhanced interrogation techniques" employed by the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11 and the committee that was tasked with writing a report on the subject. Well, I say "fascinating" but it'd be more accurate to call it frustrating or maddening or even sad.

I came away from it -- despite the grim knowledge that machines care about protecting themselves first and foremost -- with a feeling of hope. I'm inspired by Feinstein, McCain, Dan Jones, and others for standing up for what's right despite the threat to their own freedom and job security. It's obviously such a difficult thing to do. Bless them.

B+