Quick Reviews and Stuff: November
So the beginning of November has been some combination of: sick, tired, busy, traveling, existential dread, hence why you’re not getting the November Reviews post until halfway through December.
It’s, you know, whatever.
There’s still a December Reviews post to come, as well as a Favorites of 2024 — both come after the start of the new year, as I do have a habit of just sitting and binge-watching/reading over the last couple days of the year.
Anyhow, that’s something to look forward to. Here’s what I got up to last month:
Movies
The Room (2003) — Yes, this was my first time seeing this movie. Yes, this accidentally ended up being my 100th film watched this year. Yes, it was absolutely as ridiculous as I expected. I am not a huge fan of the whole “let’s all go to the movie theater and yell things at the screen” scene so I am glad to have watched this in the best environment possible, that is to say, sprawled out on an enormous beanbag at a friend’s house. You have to love a movie that so earnestly displays the fact that its writer has never had an actual conversation with another human.
Conclave (2024) — I’d say that this is the ideal Airplane Movie except for how gorgeously it’s filmed; those incredible overhead shots of all the cardinals with their little umbrellas aren’t going to have the same punch viewed on your phone or the little screen in the back of the seat in front of you. Just a solid, beautifully shot drama. This could have been so dull — its basically a political thriller only about old religious dudes — but the pacing is so good, I never felt bored or like things were dragging. Some of the message and monologuing was too on the nose, but what a collection of great actors to deliver speeches that could be cringe in lesser hands.
The Wild Robot (2024) —Beautiful graphics and character design, some laugh out loud moments, and I always appreciate a good Matt Berry appearance. Pedro Pascal continues the time honored tradition of voicing a fox that makes people wonder if maybe they have some furry tendencies, too. Yet another movie though that aggressively reminds me that I simply do not have the same feelings about parenthood/family/etc. as does the target audience of films like this.
Endurance (2024) — Documentary that serves as a companion piece to marine archaeologist Mensun Bound’s memoir, The Ship Beneath the Ice (reviewed here in March). The film, like the book, bounces you between the present-day hunt for the ship and the actual facts of Shackleton’s expedition. The back and forth worked better for me in the book, which is presented as Bound’s journals, and so often the glimpses we get of Shackleton’s time are tied to what Bound’s current crew is experiencing. In the film, the switching always seemed to happen right when I was really getting engaged with the storyline, and then it would bounce back to the other timeline. I did enjoy that the film gives us more glimpses into the personalities of Bound’s gaggle of researchers; in the book we see them only through his eyes, so everything is at a distance. Here, we can see their excitement in their own words. Ultimately though I think that by trying to switch between past and present, the film managed to give us too little of either situation. I don’t know how well any of this worked if you weren’t already a polar enthusiast. (Also it goes without saying that the use of AI technology to re-create the voices of the explorers gave me the ick. How is a computer better than just hiring an actor? Other than money? The words of Shackleton et al are what is important, not the voice in which they’re delivered.)
Eileen (2023) — Mousy secretary Eileen seems to justifiably hate pretty much every part of her life and until hot blonde psychiatrist Anne Hathaway arrives, her main form of entertainment at work is fantasizing about a coworker and getting herself off when she doesn’t think anyone else can see her. And, like, honestly, what an off-putting character but also: three cheers for gross women, more of media needs to embrace that women can be weird freaks too. Anyway, I too would also possibly snap and do some messed up stuff if I thought it could get Anne Hathaway to love me. I’m curious to read the book that this is adapted from as from other reviews I’ve read, Eileen comes off as less pathetic in the book. Supporting actor Marin Ireland delivers a stunning, horrifying monologue towards the end that is so intense that it’s incredible.
A Real Pain (2024) —From the previews, I expected this to be a bit of a fish-out-of-water buddy comedy about two American dudes in Poland; I was not expecting such a strong meditation on grief and generational trauma. Easily earned a spot on my favorites of the year list. As someone who has aspects in my personality of both Benji and David, their pain throughout felt so fully realized, so lived in. I was unfamiliar with the depth of emotions that Kieran Culkin could access and convey so effortlessly, but I am a convert now. The movie doesn’t resolve the conflict so much as leaves it at a good stopping place, which is the only way something this real could end. Anything else would have felt contrived.
Heretic (2024) —Hugh Grant as a Reddit atheist bro come to life. Doesn’t quite nail the ending, but honestly one of the more fun horror movies I’ve watched this year. Hugh Grant is clearly having a blast playing a Well Actually guy and really made the movie work for me. Worth watching just for the scene where he sings Radiohead.
Gladiator (2000) — A classic for a reason. Impeccable casting, wild battle scenes, iconic lines. I’d forgotten most of the details of the movie over the past 24-some years since I last saw it, but I did remember being emotionally devastated then and I was now, too. Russell Crowe at his absolute best.
Gladiator II (2024) —Look, this movie was fine. It didn’t meet the bar set by Gladiator, but it was fine. The plot is flimsy and just makes a couple of tweaks to the plot of the original before running it all back again. Also, I saw it three times in the theaters and if I run out of new movies to see with my AMC A-List spots over the next week and a half of my holiday break, I might just go see it again. Paul Mescal has chemistry with everyone and every second Denzel Washington is on the screen is a pure miracle of delightful scenery chewing. No regrets, no notes.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) — Nic Cage plays Nick Cage, an alternate universe version of himself who didn’t quite have the late career I Do What I Want resurgence that the current real Nic Cage has had. Not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. The best parts are when Cage and Pedro Pascal are just vibing and getting to befriend each other. The worst parts are the crime caper layered on top of what otherwise was a funny but otherwise unremarkable look at one actor’s existential crisis. Pascal and Cage have great chemistry but it’s not memorable beyond that.
Once (2007) — Boy meets girl, boy and girl make beautiful music together, boy and girl fall in love but only not quite. I originally saw this at a showing at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, where they played the movie and then Glen Hansard did a Q&A and sang a few songs. I got there late and had to snag a seat in the balcony where I could only see like 1/3 of the screen. So it was nice to revisit this so many years later in the comfort of my own home where I only occasionally had the screen blocked by a cat. Beautiful in its simplicity. A love story that doesn’t even give us a “happily for now” and yet I wouldn’t want it any other way. Some of the most stunning songs to ever exist in the world.
The Card Counter (2021) — The second movie I saw this month featuring a very miscast Tiffany Haddish (the other was The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent). Oscar Isaac is simply a notch above everyone else in this movie, which clearly suffered from a low budget and inability to do more than a few takes of any given scene. (There are so many scenes with audio problems or where it sounds like Haddish in particular is still trying to get a feel for her lines; the limited budget apparently made it difficult to afford multiple takes.) Isaac is excellent as William Tell, a former soldier/former convict who gets sucked into someone else’s revenge plot. Isaac brings a real sense of depth and, eventually, desperation and resignation to Tell, who in the hands of other actors could have been too one-dimensional. It’s a shame the rest of the cast around Isaac (and a bit appearance by Willem Dafoe) can’t meet the bar that he sets. Fair note that this involved far more content/reenactments of Abu Ghraib than I expected.
Transit (2018) —Based on a WWII-era novel about an intersecting collection of people trying to escape Nazi-occupied France, Transit keeps the same premise but sticks it on top of a decidedly modern setting, without explanation as to why France is occupied or who is behind it (the occupying forces are never named). It makes the story more chilling than expected, when you look past the relationship melodrama that pushes the plot along. Franz Rogowski is always so excellent, so sensitive, so tortured, in every film I’ve seen him in, and this is no exception.
The Lost Daughter (2021) — Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut; Olivia Colman as Leda, a professor just trying to have a nice quiet holiday who instead has to deal with a lot of really rude people at her seaside resort who dredge up some memories from her past. I would love to poll reactions on this movie among people who have children and love it, have children and have regrets sometimes, and who always knew that children were not the right choice for them. Your opinion on Leda’s actions, both past and present, probably hinges on exactly how much you find the idea of motherhood to be a horrifying trap. As someone who falls in the “never wants kids” camp, Leda’s frustration at having her life not be her own anymore was a visceral feeling for me. Someone who loves being a mother is going to have a wildly different experience of this movie, I think.
Books
Slonim Woods 9: A Memoir, Daniel Barban Levin — I went long on Goodreads on this book, a memoir that also helped form the basis of the Hulu documentary Stolen Youth. Levin, along with several of his college friends, got sucked into a cult spearheaded by the father of one of his friends. It’s truly the most bizarre story of one master manipulator coercing and controlling a bunch of naive, vulnerable college kids. The Hulu documentary and the coverage from The Cut (primarily “Larry Ray and the Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence”) fill in a lot of the gaps in Levin’s narrative — understandably he wanted to focus on his own story rather than revealing the private experiences of his friends, but that leaves you with an incomplete picture of what was going on. I thought the documentary was especially well done in terms of centering the victims rather than being exploitative for the shock factor of it, if you’re looking for a fuller understanding of this story. None of the material really leaves you with the idea that Levin has really gotten to the bottom of why, exactly, he was so easily manipulated into this situation, and at the end you’re left in disbelief that things ever went this far.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers —Dex, a tea monk whose vocation is to bring comfort to others, sets out on a journey into the wild and meets a robot. The thing is, robots gained sentience generations ago and decided to separate themselves from humanity, so Dex isn’t prepared at all for this new companion. This is absolutely the warmest hug of a book. This was so cozy. I don’t know that there’s a better word for it. It’s a quick read, although I took my time with it, enjoying being nestled in this quiet little world. Could this be much longer and meatier? Sure! But it’s a perfect little snippet of life just as it is, and the questions Dex and Mosscap raise — what is our purpose? do we need a purpose other than to just exist? what do we do when we tire of our day-to-day existence? why do I feel unfulfilled even though I have everything I need? — are applicable and relevant to any reader. I’m looking forward to curling up with the next book in this series.
Book links go to an affiliate page on Bookshop.org, where I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase.
Other Stuff
Not too much interesting to report, honestly, so here’s a picture of my foster cats, Synopsis (left) and Blurb (right), who are a) incredible and b) available for adoption from One Tail at a Time in Chicago. Tell your friends!
What’s Next
December’s already been a good month for movies, with the Interstellar re-release, Nosferatu coming out on Christmas, and a whole week and a half off of work where all I’m going to do is read books and watch movies. I also spent a quick weekend in New Orleans and very much needed both the time away and the 70+ degree weather.
We’ll catch up more in a little over a week. Until then!
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