Movie Moments XI: February 2018

Twenty for the month!

Victoria and Abdul, 01 February 2018, DVD via Redbox
I have complicated feelings about the Commonwealth, being I was born into it. (My Canadian passport bears a note saying I can take refuge in a British embassy should the need arise.) But colonialism is straight-up oppression, and Pax Britannia was built on the backs of black and brown folk, so I was wary of any traces of “the exotic Orient.” I was glad the movie leaned more towards “white folk, AMIRITE,” and “Victoria is cantankerous.” And Abdul’s open-hearted, naive joy was helpfully countered by Mohammed’s snarky resignation. (Mohammed is given the best and most searing scene in the entire film, in fact.) But, my dudes, “look how nonsense these racists are” doesn’t actually alleviate having to listen to people being racist.

Marshall, 02 February 2018, DVD via Redbox
A jaunty period soundtrack is hella dissonant when underscoring the life and times of Thurgood Marshall. (With cameo appearances by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, y’all!) However: Chadwick Boseman, damn. And Josh Gad is at his Josh Gaddiest, which is fine. Kate Hudson continues her run on playing soulless characters.

I, Tonya, 03 February 2018, UA Breckenridge Stadium 12
This movie wants to make sure we know how clever everything is, which sort of made me feel less stoked about it. But Margot Robbie and Allison Janney are spectacular, and Sebastian Stan is doing something interesting. Oh, for folks who need a trigger warning, there is a ton of domestic violence in this. (I didn’t know much of Harding’s biography, so I wasn’t aware that would be a part of the story.)

Mudbound, 03 February 2018, streamed via Netflix
“My hand did these things, but I was never easy in my mind.” This is a stunning and quiet movie.

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, 07 February 2018, streamed via Amazon Prime
It’s no coincidence that the only bank facing criminal charges after the “too big to fail” economic crisis was a small Chinese-owned institution. It is not mere happenstance these folks were subjected to humiliation as a sop to public outcry.

Icarus, 08 February 2018, streamed via Netflix
This is a wild ride. What began, as many reviews noted, as the Tour de France version of Super-size Me, quickly transmutes into a tale of an ex-con trying to evade Putin-hired assassins while testifying to Olympic authorities. Like, dude. Duuuuuuude.

Loving Vincent, 08 February 2018, streamed via Amazon Video
Given how outstanding the animation is--hand-painted with oils largely in the style of Van Gogh--it’s easy enough to be gracious about the lightweight story. The son of Van Gogh’s postman embarks on a quest to deliver the artist’s final letter to someone close to him, and ends up interviewing a ton of village folks, as if trying to prove Van Gogh’s suicide was really a murder. But it’s of a piece with Doctor Who’s Van Gogh: Folks unable, incapable of understanding how someone who seemed happy could in fact be so desperately, brokenly sad.

Darkest Hour, 11 February 2018, AMC Classic Central City 10
The shot composition in #DarkestHour is OUTSTANDING. (Though some of the narrative tension in the movie deflates, given that about 93% of the audience saw #Dunkirk this summer.) The lighting during the first meeting with the king, especially, was memorable, but pretty much every scene was pristine.

And Oldman is, as expected, great. He’s sort of the inverse of Daniel Day-Lewis for me--I can’t watch him in a movie without being aware Daniel Day-Lewis Is Acting, whereas with Oldman, I often stutter out of a scene because I keep realizing Gary Oldman has disappeared and been replaced with his character. It’s remarkable.

The Florida Project, 12 February 2018, streamed via Amazon Video
Rather than the magical realism of Beasts of the Southern Wild, we’ve got some heartbreaking cinéma vérité in Orlando, but still largely through the eyes of youngsters living in precarity. It’s a great showcase of Willem Dafoe being entirely upstaged by a trio of six-year-olds.


I MEAN, SERIOUSLY.
Last Men in Aleppo, 13 February 2018, streamed via Netflix
Last year’s winning Oscar documentary short, White Helmets, was about the war in Syria, so the style and focus of this movie weren’t surprising. That said, it’s still striking, and disheartening, to watch the White Helmets as they stare up into the sky, trying to ascertain where the next missile is going to land. And the end is shaking.

Wasted!, 14 February 2018, streamed via Amazon Video
Watched in my FYW class over three days. Still funny. Still educational.

Roman J. Israel, Esq., 14 February 2018, DVD via Redbox
So, like...who is this movie for? Because for folks who are already aware of the procedural injustices baked into the justice system, this is all unsurprising. For folks looking for a solid Denzel Washington vehicle, he’s good. I mean, he’s just the Sheldon Cooper of the criminal justice system, but it’s a change of pace, I suppose. (We had this talk about Meryl Streep last year, y’all--just because they’re in a movie doesn’t mean they should be granted an Oscar nomination.) And I guess this movie will hook upper-middle-class white folks who like telling POCs how much they love Denzel?

Clearly Get Out is still murmuring in the back of my mind.

Anyway, we should have a conversation sometime about the projects Colin Farrell is taking on, because something fascinating is going on there.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 15 February 2018, streamed via Amazon Video
Hogwarts, as an educational institution, is nonsense.

Wonder, 15 February 2018, Blu-ray via Redbox
Adolescence is brutal, y’all. Anyway, spoiler alert: Heart-warming, in ways I honestly didn’t expect. With bonus Daveed Diggs!

Geostorm, 15 February 2018, Blu-ray via Redbox
I’ve been watching Oscar movies for a MONTH, people. I needed a palate cleanser. This movie is aggressively not good, but I do kind of have to applaud their commitment to “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” None of that reverse polarities hokum here, no sirree.

Black Panther, 17 February 2018, UA Breckenridge Stadium 12
Y’ALL. This movie is 1000% as amazing as anticipated. The theatre was packed, and we were all SO HAPPY.

Captain America: Civil War, 17 February 2018, streaming via Netflix
I couldn’t watch Black Panther in my living room, so I settled for the next best thing.

The Greatest Showman, 24 February 2018, Cinemark Colonel Glenn 18
Oscar time is closing in! I, obviously, have not been dying to see this movie, despite my love for Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams. #GreatestShowman, in the end, is pretty shallow, but the set-pieces are dazzling. The Jackman/ZEfron and the Zendaya/ZEfron trapeze numbers, particularly, plus the sweep of "This Is Me."

The Breadwinner, 24 February 2018, streamed via Netflix
“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that makes the flowers grow, not thunder.” This is so lovely. Melancholy.

Interstellar, 24 February 2018, DVD via public library
I’m of the belief that every Nolan movie is a Batman AU, and given that NASA turns out to be housed in an underground cavern here, I find my faith rewarded. Also, I really want to rewatch Contact now.