Blonde (2022)

Ana de Armas is truly brilliant in a role I never would've picked her for. She both looked the part and seemed to embody Marilyn better than anyone who's tried to do so. The movie is often dazzling -- it shifts from black and white to color often and switches up the style as well. The scene that most stunned me was was when she was having active sex in a threesome and the bed sheets morphed into a movie screen with Niagara Falls playing and her hand gripped the edge of the water. Gorgeous.

But the story is problematic. Take that threesome: it doesn't seem to have actually happened. Now I know that this movie is based on Joyce Carol Oates's novel, but that should've been made more clear. I can't be the only one who was expecting a biography and got a collection of easily disproved vignettes. Yet despite this and the movie's unnecessarily long runtime, my attention was held throughout -- mostly due to de Armas.

C+

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Jake Sully's living that Na'vi life and now has four kids. But when the soldiers come for him they have to flee and find a place with a tribe that lives on (and in) the water.

The effects are mostly fine, but there's still some of that unnatural "bendy doll" movement. The story, however, is just a collection of tropes that never surprised, so it was difficult to be even a little bit invested. The fact that the script is nothing special means that the runtime is unforgivable.

C-

Dear Evan Hansen (2021)

Evan's a social outcast with only one friend -- and even that friend wants to make it clear that they're only "family friends." When another social outcast commits suicide and his family draws the incorrect conclusion that Evan and their son were besties, Evan can't let them down. And he just keeps digging himself in deeper.

So.... this story is pretty great. Amy Adams, in particular, turned in a heartbreaking performance and the songs are truly wonderful. The glaring issue here is Ben Platt in the lead. I know that most people cited his age as the issue, but I found Platt's mannerisms and "singing face" to be extremely offputting. I literally grimaced through several of his songs because he's difficult to watch. It is an important subject and should've been an effective film, but I kept being pulled out of it by his yuck-factor.

C+

In the Aisles (2019)

A young ex-con goes to work as a stocker in a big box store. A lot of the other workers used to be truckers, but that business shut down and the store moved in, so they did too. The new guy keeps his head down, learns the job, and develops a crush on a married stocker in the aisle next to his.

It took me a long time to finish this because nothing much happens. It's quiet and drawn out and we don't get very deep into anyone's life. And while that does turn out to be the (very effective) point, it's a slog to get there.

C-

Causeway (2022)

Lynsey is forced to move back home after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Her plan is to go back to work (the armed forces in Afghanistan) once she gets a doctor's sign-off, mainly because she can't think of anything better. 

This is slow-moving and quiet and extremely honest. People get stuck for a lot of reasons, but I think loneliness might be one of the hardest to overcome.

B+

The Good Nurse (2022)

A nurse with health, home, and work stressors gets a new colleague. He is capable and kind and soon becomes a friend she trusts, even with her kids. But, of course, he's got secrets. DEADLY secrets.

I mean, it's not terrible, but it's not all that interesting either. There's no insight here. Like at all.

C

The Fabelmans (2022)

This movie, let's face it, would be completely ignored if it'd been written/directed by a nobody. And it should be ignored -- it's lazy and boring and inept. A teenage girl proclaiming something along the lines of "Dad's always been Mom's biggest fan"? No. A high school bully/golden boy having an existential crisis over one of his victims trying to please the bully? That would never happen -- the bully would simply accept it as his due. I have no idea why Hollywood's pretending this is a masterpiece rather than a masturbatory mess.

The actors are not to blame here; everyone does their job as well as they can. It's just not a story worth telling. And, if it were, it should still have to be told BETTER.

D

Sharper (2023)

I didn't know what this was when I started watching, so I thought -- after the first few minutes -- that it was a romantic drama that could morph into a thriller (a guess from the title). And I was sort of right, but happy to be surprised.

The story structure keeps us in the dark about who knows what. We sometimes go back over the same ground but from a different perspective or with added backstory. It's a well-done con-game movie that doesn't break new ground, but manages some surprises and entertains throughout.

B

Fire Island (2022)

Every year a group of friends go to Fire Island for a week of hookups and fun. This year, Noah is determined to get his best friend Howie laid and is putting his own pleasure on hold until that happens. Though Howie meets the perfect guy on day one, the guy's friends aren't so sure about Howie.

This is feather-light and every bit as predictable as any rom-com from the '90s, but it still hits the spot. Lots of laughs and some genuinely moving moments. The biggest issue here is some stiff acting -- but it can be forgiven since the group is so winning.

B

Shirley (2020)

A recently married couple relocate for his new faculty position and are invited to stay with a professor and his wife, Shirley Jackson. What was intended to be a short-term stay is extended when the young wife is asked to play housekeeper and nursemaid to Jackson, who is having trouble coping with day-to-day life.

While this was a pretty good story with interesting characters, I dislike the use of fame as a springboard for fiction. It feels like a cheat to get me to watch (or read) a story because I'm interested in the person it's based on only to find out there's very little truth to the tale. Moss is very good though.

C+

Girl (2018)

Lara is at a stressful time in her life. Her family has just relocated to allow her to attend a prestigious ballet school on a trial basis. In order to stay there, she must learn pointe years after her peers started training, which involves extremely long hours in order to catch up. Adding to the pressure is the fact that she's pre-transition -- figuring out who she wants to be while denying the fact that her body doesn't yet reflect that.

It's a really hard watch. Teenage girls are the worst. And while it's good to see a story with such support (thank God for kind doctors, understanding therapists and truly engaged parents), it's also important to be reminded of how delicate gender reassignment is -- even when you don't have to fight for the right.

B

Women Talking (2022)

For a movie about an American religious community in 2010 that operates as though women are nothing but property without rights -- even when some of its members have been arrested for raping women and girls after rendering them unconscious -- this was crazy boring.

The conversation and ideas presented didn't feel in any way natural. Even if this had been set in the 1700s, the women ran from "too trusting" to "too forward-thinking." Most of the women (and girls) seemed to possess modern-day understanding while still holding fast to the belief that what the men told them was true. How could they believe the elders who told them they wouldn't go to heaven if they didn't forgive the rapists while also holding the knowledge that these same elders blamed imagination and demons for their bruised and bleeding bodies?

I hated this so much. It was reductive and infuriating.

D-

Living (2022)

Though the first half hour or so was stupendously boring, thinking back I see just how necessary it was. We needed to understand this man's life and how his days unfolded to truly comprehend the immensity of what comes next.

And, wow. This winds up being a surprise knockout. Nighy deserves his nomination for quietly embodying a man who opens his eyes just in time -- he was nothing short of inspirational. Gary and I both loved this.

A

The Whale (2022)

Charlie never leaves his house. He works at home, has food delivered, and he's only got one friend. Luckily, she's a nurse since he's in terrible health and refuses to get proper medical attention. He knows he's close to death and desperately wants to get to know his daughter, from whom he's been separated since he left his marriage for a man about 8 years ago.

I'm a plus-size woman who doesn't like doctors, so you'd think I could empathize with Charlie... but I really struggled here. Sure, he's a nice guy with feelings like anyone else -- but I was just so depressed by what he'd done to himself, and his body was only one facet of that. The self-imposed isolation and extended grief felt like unnecessary indulgences, which made it difficult not to judge him and nearly impossible for me to be entertained or moved.

That said, both Hong Chau (as his friend) and Samantha Morton (as his ex) were superb.

C+

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

I'm not even sure how to begin to review this one. Is it a disaster movie? A farce? A commentary on the severe imbalance of power that occurs in a capitalistic society? The answer to all of those questions is "yes, of course."

We spend about half of our time on a luxury cruise full of ultra-rich and out-of-touch passengers making ridiculous (and often nonsensical) demands of the crew. When circumstances cause the power to shift, things get really interesting and even more weird. 

Though it's definitely worth the watch, the run time is not justified. If we're ever expected to return to theaters en masse, movie lengths need to be trimmed or the intermission must make a comeback.

B+

Tár (2022)

Blanchett is absolutely mesmerizing as the formidable Lydia Tár, a woman who clearly knows what she wants and doesn't shy away from the hard work of doing what's necessary to get it. Though I'd trim the initial scene -- I was beginning to think the whole film was going to be that interview -- this is a masterpiece.

I went into this knowing only that it's about a female conductor, but it's so much more. I almost don't know how to talk about it except to say that Field is a hell of a writer and if Blanchett doesn't win best actress for this then the Oscars are broken.

A

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Black Panther was a pretty good superhero movie, but that was mostly due to the presence of Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan. While the villains are truly formidable and the effects much improved in this follow-up, Shuri is no T'Challa.

Honestly, the best part of the movie was the all-Boseman Marvel logo at the start. I actually had tears in my eyes after that tribute.

C+