American Fiction (2023)

Monk is taking a forced sabbatical from his professor position as a result of his acerbic temperament receiving one too many complaints. His newest book has been turned down by everyone who's read it, which is especially galling to Monk when he considers the exploitative "black" book of the moment. He heads to his hometown to see family and to get to work on a new book that he suspects will get the attention of the publishing houses. And wow, he's right -- his book gets a shitload of attention -- but not in the way he expected.

It's been a long time since I laughed this much in what is undeniably a very smart movie. Brilliant acting and a superb script; what a wonderful time.

A

Society of the Snow (2023)

Despite the brutal subject matter, this was a surprisingly easy watch. The pacing was superb and the script did a great job of keeping me engaged and desensitizing me to the horror of what they had to do -- which is probably exactly what happened to the survivors themselves. What was naturally abominable became necessary which then was simply normal. And the scenery! What small creatures we are on this vast landscape: this film really brings our own fragility into focus.

But even with all that, I never really connected with any of the characters and was only able to pick a few out of the group with regularity. There could've been a much bigger emotional impact here if we got to know at least some of them as individuals, maybe through flashbacks and inner monologues. Since several of the men are still alive, this should've been possible.

B

Spin Me Round (2022)

Amber, a manager at an Olive Garden-type chain, heads off to a company training in Florence with a half-dozen other managers from different locations. It winds up being a weirdly low-rent affair in both accommodation and content, so Amber is excited to accept an invitation to spend the day with the chain's owner, who seems quite smitten with her.

I'm making it sound like there's a story here, but there's really not. It feels like the writer's room was one of those "no idea is a bad idea" places and every single thought made it into the movie. It's somehow both too much and not nearly enough.

D+

Past Lives (2023)

Children Na Young and Hae Sung are good friends in South Korea. Just before Na's family emigrates Canada, her mother arranges a "date" for them so that her daughter will have a happy memory of their time together. Decades later, when Na (now Nora) is working toward being a playwright in New York, they find each other online and renew their friendship over months of video chats.

"What if" stories are nothing new, but this film's final section does elevate it and I did spill some tears. I couldn't help feeling, however, that those tears were manipulated out of me by a particularly effective mini-flashback. 

B+

Bottoms (2023)

A couple of high school lesbian outcasts come up with a plan to start a self-defense club as a way to spend time with (and hopefully bang) some cheerleaders. It's a super funny premise surrounded by so much awkwardness that I almost couldn't see the comedy for all of the cringe. Up until the final 30 minutes or so, the scenes felt improvised by amateurs. 

Honestly -- and I know I'm in a teeny tiny minority here -- I am unimpressed with both Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri as actors. Though they both seem awesome and fun as people, I can't find the talent in their work.

C-

Veteran (2015)

This is one of those movies where a protected-by-daddy psycho does whatever the hell he wants to and everyone just tries to figure out how to not get on his bad side. It's always kind of delicious when that type of character gets on a good but also scary dude's radar, and that's what happens here. 

I admit that I got a little lost a few times due to the combo of it being a foreign film with tons of dialogue (i.e. lots of words on the screen to read) so that words were often floating over action-packed chases or fights, meaning I had to choose which to focus on. It says a lot that, despite the fact I know I missed quite a bit, I still had a great time.

B-

Stromboli (2023)

Sara has made a mess of things back home with her husband and teenage daughter. She decides to take a solo trip to Stromboli, a volcanic island she'd visited with her husband in happier times but, this time, she's staying as drunk as possible. When she gets kicked out her rental for setting the kitchen on fire, she's rescued by a kind man running a wellness retreat. 

I was truly moved by this story. Sara's been on the run mentally from a traumatic event in her youth, but it's catching up to her now that her daughter's at the same age as she was when the event occurred. The wellness retreat and the other seeking people there prove to be the unexpected community she needs to move on. It's one of those small but incisive little stories that packs so much into an efficient run time.

B

The Pez Outlaw (2022)

Steve Glew has some great stories about traveling to Europe, somehow getting direct access to PEZ factories, loading up with tons of dispensers not sold in the states, and getting the haul through customs. You're on his side against the seemingly petty "Pezident" in charge of American sales. He's scrappily living the American dream and seems to have found an appealing way to get rich with very little capital.

But, eventually, Steve contracts with a factory to produce PEZ dispensers of his own design. Despite his attitude (seemingly shared by the trading community and the documentarians) that he's the little guy and PEZ should calm down, I was firmly NOT on his side. I mean... what if I took a Nike tennis shoe and had a factory copy it but in alternate color combos? That wouldn't be clever, it would be illegal and what Steve did was no different. Once he lost the moral high ground, I ceased to be interested in his story.

C+

The Color Purple (2023)

I do not understand how this went so wrong. The cast is fantastic, the source material is devastating yet hopeful, and making it a musical should've been a slam dunk with Fantasia in the lead role. But it felt so small. Even Barrino's voice felt swallowed up -- as though she had one of those trumpet dampers in her throat.

I was bored and disappointed.

C-

Dicks: The Musical (2023)

It's parent trap but with men instead of girls and Sewer Boys instead of a fiancee for dad. Yeah, I know that doesn't make much sense if you haven't seen it. Honestly, it doesn't make much sense even if you have seen it. Basically, long-lost identical twins (shut up, they are) meet, compare notes, switch places to get to know the parent they never met, and conspire to get them back together. It doesn't matter to them that Dad's gay and is devoted to a couple of tiny monsters he found in the sewer and that Mom's insane and her pussy is now living off-body -- they just want to be a family!

We were laughing for the first 15 minutes or so, but every scene with Mullally was a chore to get through. In a script full of "what the hell" she stood out as incredibly annoying -- even more annoying than the eventual brother-on-brother 69ing. Yikes.

C

Seraphim Falls (2007)

A lone man in the wilderness is pursued by a posse determined to capture him. He's not superhuman, but he is resourceful and manages to slip away time and again, reducing the number of pursuers one by one. Eventually we find out why he's being pursued and, honestly, it's a simple case of willfully misplaced vengeance. 

By the time we get to the magical saleswoman in the middle of the salt flats, I'd had it.

C

Empire of Light (2022)

At work is just about the only place that a person can really spend time with people outside of their usual age group and social circle, e.g. the popular high school cheerleader's best work friend might be a white-haired grandfather trying to make ends meet. Somehow such a disparate group can become tight and share inside jokes and truly care about one another, which is the case at an old-school two-screen movie theater on the English coast in the early '80s.

Stephen, a young black man, is hired on and immediately becomes a staff favorite. He and the theater's manager Hilary hit it off and are soon romantically entangled, despite an age difference of a couple of decades. Other obstacles are that rampant, violent racism is a fact at this time in England and Hilary has stopped taking the lithium necessary to manage her mental health. Toss in a married boss who literally expects Hilary to bend over whenever the mood strikes and you know things will eventually blow.

And yet this manages to be a lovely film with many moments of quiet charm. The two leads can make your heart break with a glance.

B

Rustin (2023)

Bayard Rustin is a name I'd never heard before and -- though it's a travesty he's not in history books -- I can kind of see why. A loud gay black man, regardless of his intellect and ability to inspire action in the fight for equality, is gonna be a tough sell as the "face" of anything in the 1960s.

That said, the movie feels a little too "good for me": the cinematic equivalent of oatmeal. Yes, I'm satisfied, but I'm not inspired to recommend, despite the fact that I'm impressed with the man's bravery and accomplishments.

B-

Nyad (2023)

This was my introduction to Diana Nyad, a marathon swimmer who failed in her quest to swim from Cuba to Florida at age 28 only to pick the challenge back up in her 60s. It's an almost unbelievable story of dedication and obsession anchored by Jodie Foster's performance as Nyad's best friend Bonnie. It's her belief in and affection for Nyad that helps us care about the both about the quest and for Nyad herself.

The quest itself is brutal to the point that it can get monotonous, but the feel-good inspiration is impossible to deny.

B

The Commune (2017)

It's the '70s and Erik has inherited his family home. It's too large for his 3-person family so, rather than sell, his wife Anna convinces him that they should form a commune. Soon they've filled the house and are making decisions via vote, but Erik struggles to find his place in his expanded circumstances.

It's a perfect "be careful what you wish for" tale: never heavy-handed, the story progresses inevitably with everyone responding in their own ways to the new paradigm. It's a wonderfully natural film from Thomas Vinterburg (Another Round & The Hunt) -- safe to say I'm becoming a fan.

A-

Right Here Right Now (2018)

It's New Year's Eve in Hamburg and things aren't going great for Oskar: his club is bankrupt and he owes money he doesn't have to a loan shark. He decides to throw one last epic blowout and then skip town, but his plans go awry in every way over the course of the evening.

It's loud and packed with people and I never knew quite what was going on -- kind of like being at a rager on New Year's. While I didn't hate this, I did have a hard time finding the plot. 

C