After Yang

After Yang (2021)

Directed by Kogonada

Screenplay by Kogonada

Based on the short story, "Saying Goodbye to Yang" from the book, "Children of the New World" by Alexander Weinstein

Stars: Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Justin H. Min, Ritchie Coster, Sarita Choudhury, Haley Lu Richardson, and Clifton Collins Jr.

Film friends have been putting this movie on their top ten movies so far this year. I can see why.

In the near future, a family is dealing with their A.I helper, Yang (Min) malfunctions and becomes inoperable. The younger sister, Mika (Tjandrawidjaja) has been hit hard with the loss of Yang. Jake (Farrell) is trying everything that he can to restore Yang back to normal.

In the beginning, it took my a while to get used to the mood and the tone of the movie. As anyone knows, child actors make me cringe so much. It was the same here. Whenever Mika endless questioned Jake or Kyra (Turner-Smith), I wanted to scream "Shut the fuck up!"

I understood why she was in anguish. She probably never had to deal with the possibility of death. It would probably hit her very hard. It's understandable. Jake deals with it differently than Kyra. Everybody processes death differently.

I thought the mood of the film was exactly what it needed to be. What would you do if a loved one here today and gone tomorrow? The film asked a lot of profound questions about life and death, artificial intelligence, or what does the advancement of technology does to us as a society.

Rating: 9/10

Pride Month Movie - Day Twenty: Mayor Pete

Mayor Pete (2021)

Directed by Jesse Moss

Script by Jeff Seymann Gilbert, Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss and Jay Walker

Stars: Pete Buttigieg, Chasten Buttigieg, Mike Schmuhl and Lis Smith

During this blog-a-thon, I wanted to watch a documentary to break the monotony of watching depressing dramas. I saw this movie on Amazon Prime and wanted to get a behind the curtains view of Mayor Pete. The view was an Iron Curtain.

This documentary delves into the 2020 presidential campaign of South Bend, Indiana mayor, Pete Buttigieg as he becomes the youngest openly gay candidate in an overstuffed field vying to be president.

I'll try not to get too political, but you know know with me. I thought it was nice for Buttigieg to run. Was I ever in his camp? No. I felt that he was delivering empty platitudes. He didn't give direct answers to questions about his stance on certain positions. When that officer involved shooting happened and his response to it rubbed me the wrong way.

The documentary feels like a vanity project. I had no new insight of who Pete Buttigieg was. It was surface level stuff that was probably approved the Buttigiegs.

There were a couple of highlights of the movie: first was Chasten, Pete's husband was breath of fresh air. Two was Lis Smith who sets Pete straight whenever he came across as stoic or disconnected from his audience. Lastly, was the part that the team were stuck in the elevator on their way to first presidential debate.

Rating: 5/10

Pride Month Movie - Day Ten: Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021)

Directed by Jonathan Butterell

Co-directed by Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae

Screenplay by Tom MacRae

Based on the stage musical by Jonathan Butterell & Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae

Stars: Max Harwood, Lauren Patel, Sarah Lancashire, Richard E. Grant, Sharon Horgan, Samuel Bottomley, Shobna Gulati and Ralph Ineson

There were rumblings about the stage musical that was a big hit in the West End. This movie was not on my radar, because it was one of many musicals that were coming out last year. I should have trusted my first instinct.

Jaime (Harwood) is a 16-year-old that has a dream of being a drag queen.

Excuse me, my lack of enthusiasm with this movie. I have a lot of thoughts. I wanted to watch a movie that was fun and whimsical. I thought this was it. The songs do not propel the story forward. It was more of a full stop. The sound mixing was muddled.

This movie reminds me of Love, Simon. A story with a protagonist that is an awful person. I did not like Jaime. I wondered why was the musical so popular in the UK. I don't see it.

Rating: 2/10

B.A.D. Movie of the Week: House of Gucci

House of Gucci (2021)

Directed by Ridley Scott

Screenplay by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna

Based on the book by Sara Gay Forden 

Stars: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayak and Jack Huston

I was looking for to the movie for the longest time when it was shooting early last year. Hearing the negative reviews about this movie, it made me stay away until now. This movie is a doozy.

This movie chronicles the time between 1972 to 1997. The film tries to focus of the relationship between Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and Maurizio Gucci (Driver), but it bogged down with a lot of side characters that have nothing to do with anything.

Confusing. That's what this movie was. You have no idea where the movie takes place in. What time period are we in? Who was the person? Are they important? Why is the movie so gray? Why is Salma Hayak in this movie? Who cast Jared Leto in this movie? Why (in general)?

The movie was not cohesive. If it was about the trial with flashbacks to when Patrizia and Maurizio met, their marriage, Patrizia's ambition, her "affair" with Pina Auriemma (Hayak) interwoven. Something.

The movie was business meetings; endless business meetings about the Gucci brand, selling the company to XYZ person, avoiding tax evasions charges. I don't understand the purpose of this film. It was not entertaining. It was too long, tedious and boring.

Rating: 3/10

Top Ten Favorite Movies of 2021

 Here is my list for my favorite films of 2021:

 

10.

The Hand of God

 

9.

Dune

8.

Drive My Car

7.

Licorice Pizza

6.

tick, tick...boom!

Flugt

Flee (2021)

Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Written and starring: Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Amin Nawabi

I thought I was done with watching Oscar movies this year, but I had to see this one that has been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Animated Feature (?) and Best Documentary Feature.

This movie tells the story of Amin about his harrowing journey from being smuggled out of Afghanistan during the rise of Taliban during the late 80s.

I understood why Rasmussen chose to make the film animated because Amin wanted to protect his identity and those of his family that are placed in different parts of Europe. I get that. I don't know the criteria for Animated Feature, but there are parts of the documentary that are not animated.

The structure of the film is mix between recorded conversations and reenactment of events. I love this movie, but I had a couple gripes with it. I wish I learned more about how Rasmussan meet Amin. Where did they meet? How did he know about Amin's story? I felt that the movie was blase with what happened to Amin's family. The movie was also blase with Amin and his relationship with his partner, Kasper.

Rating: 8.5/10

2021 Best Picture Rankings

 Now that I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees, I will rank them from least to most enjoyable.

 

10.

Nightmare Alley

9.

Belfast

8.

King Richard

7.

The Power of the Dog

6.

Don't Look Up

Licorice Pizza

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper

Saying this off the bat, I hate the title. I do. I really do. What the fuck does licorice pizza mean? Whatever. This is the last Best Picture nominee that I needed to see. I like the movie, but I think the movie has some problems.

The dynamic between Gary (Hoffman) and Alana (Haim) was good. I was getting a little iffy with it because their a ten year age difference between the two. I didn't want an underage romance. The two leads are friends, but I have no idea why they are so jealous of each other when they are with other people.

My biggest problems of the movie were the cameos of Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper. They dragged the movie down. I was getting pissed off with them. I wanted them to go away. The third act fell apart for me. It dragged on. I was getting frustrated. There was also a problematic scene with an Asian character in this movie. I physically winced.

Rating: 7.5/10

Doraibu mai kâ

Drive My Car (2021)

Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Screenplay by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe 

Based on the short story, "Men Without Women" by Haruki Murakami 

Stars: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Park Yu-rim, Sonia Yuan, Masaki Okada, Satoko Abe, and Jin Dae-yeon 

I was eagerly anticipating this movie's release when the Oscar nominationscame out. I have the praise this movie got. I went into it with high expectations and I was disappointed.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate the movie, but I think movie should not have been three hours long. I can sit through a three hour movie-- no problem-- but the movie has to keep my attention. This movie did not keep my attention. The film was a series of long monotonous monologues. By hour two, I could barely keep my eyes open.

The prologue of the movie aka the first forty could have been cut out entirely. The long pauses were cringe-worthy. I did not like a particular character in the movie, Kôshi Takatsuki (Okada). Whenever he was on screen, I wanted to have him gone. 

If the movie focused more on the budding friendship with Kafuku (Nishijima) and his driver Misaki (Miura), I would have been more enjoyable.

Rating: 7/10

King Richard

 King Richard (2021)

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green

Screenplay by Zach Baylin

Stars: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn, Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew, Daniele Lawson, Layla Crawford and Erika Ringor

When I heard the title, I thought the movie was a Shakespeare play. I was so wrong.

I heard of the William sisters story growing up. None of what happened in this movie was a surprise to me. When you know what happens in a movie, you get bored. Guess what? I got bored. Did I want to see a stage mom movie that is thirty minutes too long? Not really.

I know that Smith is getting a lot of buzz with this movie. It reminds me of the work he did in The Pursuit of Happyness. Compare those two performances. Very similar. I thought Aunjanue Ellis was a powerhouse here.

Did the movie need to be nominated for Best Picture? No. I don't see the merit in it.

Rating: 5/10

Dune

 

Dune (2021)

Directed by Denis Villneuve

Screenplay by Denis Villneuve and Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth

Based on the novel by Frank Herbert

Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård. Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Chang Chen, Dave Bautista, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem,  Babs Olusanmokun, and Zendaya Coleman 

Full disclosure: I have not read any of the Dune books nor the 1984 movie. Going into this movie completely was not the best course of action. I had no idea what was happening. Is this more lore that I need to know? Who is the emperor? Are these people fighting over spices? Who are these blue eyed people? Why is the baron so big, but can float?

Being unfamiliar with Villneuve's work, I can see that he loves big sci-fi epics as of late. Good for him. 

The portion of the movie that stuck out to me with the relationship between Jessica (Ferguson) and Paul (Chalamet). The visuals of the film are top notch. I walk away with the feeling this story is another white savior story. A vanilla man comes into a culture, be one with it and becomes the new leader. This trope has been done to death. This hinders my enjoyment of the movie.

Rating: 7/10

Belfast

Belfast (2021)

Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh

Stars: Jude Hill, Jaime Dornan, Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, Lewis McAskie, and Olive Tennant

I understand that this movie recieved a lot of hype during this awards season. As soon as the first sequence was over, I knew that this movie was not right for me.

Knowledge that this movie is loosely based on Branagh's childhood in Belfast is great and all, but I could connect with it. I have never been an Irish boy growing during a culture war in the late 1960s.

The theme of 2021 is filming your movies in black and white. I am tried of this style of film making. I saw it with this, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and C'mon, C'mon. I was to be flippant and say, "filming in black and white. Groundbreaking," but I won't.

I understand that this movie was deeply personal for Branagh. I get it, but I don't see anything special about it. I don't understand why Dench and Hinds were nominated. It was grave omission not having Balfe nominated instead. It boggles the mind.

Rating: 5/10

Cyrano

 

Cyrano (2021)

Directed by Joe Wright

Screenplay by Erica Schmidt

Based on the play by Edmond Rostand

Stars: Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Ben Mendelsohn, Monica Dolan, and Bashir Salahuddin

I was hearing awards buzz with this movie, in particular with Peter Dinklage as the titular character. I am upset that this performance was overlooked. It's a crime.

Full disclosure, I am unfamiliar with the story of Cyrano de Bergerac in the fictional sense. I came into this movie with different feelings. No idea that this movie was a musical. That threw me for a loop. It took me out of the movie when the character broke out into song.

There were mentions about Dinklage's singing voice being compared to Pierce Bronsan in Mamma Mia! I wouldn't get that far. Brosnan's was an abomination. Dinklage was serviceable here. It brought a Sondheim cadence. The talk singing.

I thought that Haley Bennett as Roxanne was very good. I loved her singing voice.

I'm surprised the movie's solo Oscar nomination is for the costumes by Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran. The costumes were very lush, especially Roxanne's and the ones for the sisters.

If this movie is in your area, please see it.

Rating: 7.5/10

West Side Story

 West Side Story (2021)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Screenplay by Tony Kushner

Based on the original 1961 screenplay by Arthur Laurents

Stars: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Josh Andrés Rivera, Brian d'Arcy James, Corey Stoll, and Rita Moreno

It feels so good to be back reviewing films again. I have always had a passion for cinema. No matter how much is waned over the years that flicker was still there.

Recently watching the original 1961 version, I prefer Spielberg's version than the Robbins/Wise one.

Now that is out of the way, this re-imagining tweaked some problems I had with the original movie. The speedy love story between Tony and Maria had more weight to it. The timeline is over two days and a lot happens in those days. The pacing was air tight. Even though the movie is two and half hours long, it doesn't feel like it was long. The orchestrations were lush. The choreography felt more realistic. I was not seeing gangs dance fighting. It would take me out of the experience. The costumes were bright and vibrant.

The two standouts of the movie are Rachel Zegler as Maria and Ariana DeBose as Anita. They are the lifeblood of this movie. I'm surprised that movie flopped at the box office. Maybe it was the Elgort in the room. I don't know. 

 I want everybody to see this movie. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and it deserves it. 

Rating: 8/10