Jojo Rabbit, 02 February 2020, Cinemark Colonel Glenn 18
It’s the feel-good Nazi movie of the year? I really wish #JojoRabbit hadn’t plugged in actual Nazi footage set to wacky music in the intro, because I couldn’t quite settle into enjoying everything else for the rest of the time. But it’s cleverly written, gorgeously dressed, and perfectly acted. In the end, a really sharp satire that I wanted to get lost in more. (If it worked for you, great! It was just never going to work for me.)
The Two Popes, 04 February 2020, streamed via Netflix
I imagine this movie would be incredibly uninteresting to anybody who doesn’t dig thinking about theology and doctrine for a while. But it is so fun if you’re into that! And Pryce and Hopkins are pretty great in their face-offs, and the entire shebang is so multilingual. For me, a delight.
I Lost My Body, 05 February 2020, streamed via Netflix
So this Oscar-nominated animated movie starts with flies and dismembered body parts, so. I don’t know, man. Like, it’s about a severed hand trying to get back to its owner, having flashbacks to its owner’s wistfully traumatic life, but also, it’s a dismembered hand strangling a pigeon in a storm gutter in Paris. It was good, I guess? I just cared nothing about it.
Klaus, 06 February 2020, streamed via Netflix
The animation for this movie reminds me of nothing so much as a cross between The Emperor’s New Groove and a space-age Captain Crunch commercial. It’s a pretty standard Doc Hollywood narrative, though: snooty dude gets sent out to a rural area, tries to churn through work so he can escape, and then ends up healing all the rifts in the community. BUT it’s also a Santa origin story? It’s pretty fun.
For Sama, 07 February 2020, streamed via Amazon Prime
So this movie is about a mother making a film for her newborn daughter as the uprising goes on, largely framed by their work in the last hospital standing in Aleppo. It is...oof. Going straight from playing with a baby to seeing the walls of the hospital collapse from a bomb is just...oof. Dead kids and friends getting bombed; this documentary is 100% of the “the least we can do is bear witness” kind.
Honeyland, 07 February 2020, streamed via Hulu
Well, this movie is gorgeous. I really like that there’s no voiceover--we’re just...watching. I have no idea how the filmmakers made this movie, because seriously, a close-up shot of an elderly woman in a hut by candlelight? How? Anyway, by the end of the film, I was so invested I ended up yelling at the neighbors through my TV.
The Edge of Democracy, 07 February 2020, streamed via Netflix
“I feel our democracy was nothing but a short-lived dream.” Nope, no parallels to what’s going on in America AT ALL, like say the impeachment of a president of a corrupt government, thanks, Brazil for the warning. This was pretty interesting as a history, but the voiceover from the filmmaker sort of robbed it of something, though I’m not sure what.
Oscar Shorts: : Live Action, 08 February 2020, Cinemark Colonel Glenn 18
Four well-crafted films featuring kidnapping, terrorist families, child murder, and drug-running. One well-crafted and heart-warming comedic film about the ups and downs of life. Yup, this seems like a legit set of Oscar shorts.
Oscar Shorts: Animation, 08 February 2020, Cinemark Colonel Glenn 18
They also included a few “Highly Commended,” which they usually do to fill in some time, for some reason.
- Henrietta Bulkowski
- The Bird and the Whale
- Hors Piste
- Maestro No offense to this one--the animation looked quite good--but I left when this started because I had been in the theatre for four hours and I was done being there.
American Factory, 08 February 2020, streamed via Netflix
Car factory student exchange! This was a pretty sweet story if you think about it as making friends from other cultures. It’s a pretty sad story when you think about it as a stark portrayal of decaying American industries. But also, a great watch.
The Cave, 09 February 2020, streamed via Hulu
Not that either of them are unworthy of a nomination, but between this movie, For Sama, and various documentaries, long and short, in the past few years, I feel like we’ve gotten a LOT of films about the Syrian war. They’re always well-done and thought-provoking, but one starts to wonder if those nominating have a bit of an obsession. (There are other humanitarian crises, guys.) It’s also worth noting that both The Cave and For Sama focus on civilian hospitals. The most notable difference in this film, though, is its number of women doctors--I don’t recall seeing any in For Sama. This movie, however, lacks framing, which I think poses a problem for the audience. There’s a lack of specificity that prevents folks from fully grasping the situation.
Before the Flood, 12 February 2020, streamed via Disney+
I showed part of this to one of my classes, as we’re researching climate change. I remain puzzled, however, about the DiCaprio-ness of it.
Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey AKA Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), 14 February 2020, Riverdale 10 VIP Cinema
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Last Christmas, 22 February 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
I am so glad Emilia Clarke has this on her reel now, because it’s a pretty perfect anti-Daenerys. BUT ALSO, Michelle Yeoh has a romantic comedy subplot and I love it. ALSO, Henry Golding can stop being charming and tap-dancey ANY SECOND NOW, okay? Anyway, I am somewhat irritated at how charming this movie is. STOP BEING LOVELY, y'goshdarn romantic comedy. I also dig that the story is about a refugee Croatian family, except...most of these actors aren’t Croatian, are they? (A good slice of my extended family is from the former Yugoslavia, so that aspect felt kind of weird.) But Emilia Clarke and Michelle Yeoh and Henry Golding are really wonderful, so good work, #LastChristmas, you did the thing you meant to do.
The Good Liar, 22 February 2020, DVD via Redbox
There is a certain charm to watching McKellen and Mirren out-act a bit of a potboiler that is somewhat beneath their talents. Also, the plot twists do not hold up at all. Best to ignore them.
Playing with Fire, 23 February 2020, DVD via Redbox
Sometimes you just need something silly. Sometimes that means you’re watching a Nickelodeon nonsense movie about attractive people doing pratfalls to pop music a lot. (And not for nothing, but I watched this entire thing and didn’t get distracted once; I wandered away from The Good Liar several times.)
21 Bridges, 23 February 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
I remain, and perhaps will always remain, uncomfortable with narratives that glorify he-had-it-coming policing (and I watch a LOT of them, let’s be clear). So this is kind of intriguing, as Boseman’s character is first painted as one of those vigilante cops, but then the circumstances of a robbery, with revelations of police corruption, means that he is ALSO the only cop not trying to kill the perps. There are a few too many complications, but it mostly works.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, 29 February 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
Out of everything else, I was happily rattled that they ensured the show-within-the-movie had the same slightly fuzzled image that I remember from watching when I was a kid. Between Hanks being Hanks, Hanks playing Rogers, and the plot of a cynical journalist slowly understanding how to connect with humans, this movie is a hug filled with sunshine. Also, Matthew Rhys in bunny ears, people.
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