Heard so much great stuff about RESURRECTION, but I was not ready for it. A Chinese story reminiscent of Cloud Atlas, I needed to read the Wiki plot summary after to try & make sense of the story. Lots of stuff I missed but the film looks gorgeous (that oner with time-lapse footage was amazing) 2.5*
AMARELA was basically over before it began. An admirable performance from Uehara, but just when things started to get interesting, credits began rolling. I'd feel worse for Erika if Brazil came back & won... Needed to use Google Translate on the title 2*
Glad I watched a YT primer before CHAINSAW MAN - THE MOVIE: REZE ARC, but probably could have enjoyed the film without it. A very strange world filled with devils, their hunters, and an awkward teenage love triangle. Sorta makes me want to watch S1 if only to spend more time with Denji & friends 4*
PETER HUJAR'S DAY takes a 1974 interview transcript & turns it into a 76-min experiment of a "film." Whishaw & Hall are both excellent actors & Sachs directs the heck out of this, inventing a lot for the two to do, but otherwise it's just an early podcast about a bunch of people I don't know. 2.5*
ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS was a #shortlist film that didn't get an Oscar nom but won a BAFTA. Pairs well w/ Extremist, telling of a Ukrainian teen trapped in a frontline bunker hospital w/ some patients & his family. Drones, Russian soldiers & bombs fill the 20 mins with dread. End cards made me sad 3*
LAURA is a classic '40s noir that excited me when I saw Preminger's name (but this is no Anatomy of a Murder). Andrews plays the slowly-growing-obsessed detective well, but the twists & turns weren't surprising & the supporting cast didn't work for me. Fun to see Price in a non-spooky role though 3*
Unsure how accurately PILLION portrays Dom/sub relationships (I hope real ones have more communication about limits to ensure both are fulfilled), but Skarsgård & Melling both give compelling performances & have a natural chemistry. Melling especially impresses w/ Colin's arc of finding himself 3.5*
Mimi Wilcox takes a hostage situation her grandmother went through, ties it to a Swedish bank heist & Patty Hearst's kidnapping & analyzes what we think we know about Stockholm Syndrome in BAD HOSTAGE. Glad to see #ACAB was just as true in the 70s as it is today. A very well-edited short doc 4*
Kind of forgot to include the title BALLERINA in this review...
Just because de Armas was underused in a NTtD action scene doesn't mean she needed her own JW spinoff. The 87North stunts, as always, are great with many exciting fight scenes & some truly unique set pieces (grenades, flamethrowers, plates). But the revenge plot is boring w/ a ridiculous ending 2.5*
Even at 2x, WAR OF THE WORLDS is atrocious. The only thing earning it half a star is Ice Cube's attempt at delivering the line "Move, bitch! Get out the way!" The effects, plot, editing, acting & product placement are all so bad—they're bad. Should've just counted Drew Gooden's video as a watch 0.5*
I need to start watching everything Benesch does. LATE SHIFT is a gripping 90 mins following her as a nurse just trying to complete her rounds in an understaffed hospital. The camerawork is tense & several scenes made me want to scream. Very sweet final shot followed by depressing credit text 4.5*
Finally sat down & watched Z-O-M-B-I-E-S, which my 5yo was watching nonstop for months. The songs & choreography have no business being so catchy. Bamm, My Year, Someday, Fired Up—all bangers. But a lot of the dialogue is exactly what I'd expect from a DCOM with Bucky a laughably bad villain 3*
GOOD BOY takes vibe-based horror & puts it in a dog's POV. Indy deserves all the praise he's gotten (such an extraordinary performance!), but the script leaves a lot to be desired. At only 72 mins, there wasn't much plot—humans are mostly faceless & there's little background given to anything 2.5*
THE HISTORY OF SOUND takes queer-film icons Mescal & O'Connor & pairs them up as Brokeback Musicians who meet before WWI, reconnect over a folk-music gathering trip & separate into their "normal" lives. The second half drags after O'Connor goes away but Cooper impresses in a small epilogue role 3.5*
ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU tells a broad story of Israeli occupation in Palestine over 70+ yrs & three generations. While the film seemed to drag at first, once it passed the midpoint, it became gripping & heartbreaking (especially when you realize nothing has changed & things have only gotten worse) 4*
Seems three different directors, a huge rewrite & firing your star may have been bad news for SCREAM 7. It's hard to care about Ghostface's kills when his victims are barely characters. Great to have Campbell back but the twins were wasted, the teens were hard to watch & this was the worst reveal 2*
Reminiscent of The Florida Project (h/t writer/producer/editor Baker) LEFT-HANDED GIRL follows a precocious 5yo (an excellent Ye) with a "Devil Hand," her older sister becoming a betel nut beauty, her mother opening a noodle stand & her grandmother funneling people out of Taiwan. Loved the ending 4*
The leads of THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (Del Toro, Threapleton & Cera) are all fantastic, as is the always-great production design, but the story is bloated and ridiculous. Why have a cast this stacked if some of the stars are stuck with two lines? Maybe it'll improve on rewatch, but who has the time? 3*
RED RIVER tells a story of cattle herding the only way Hawks can—huge spectacles featuring hundreds of cows & a stampede that certainly couldn't have gotten the AHA disclaimer if filmed today. Wayne slowly becomes a jerk while Clift compares guns w/ a young cowboy & Brennan does what he does best 4*
Finished the #DLMOscarChallenge earlier today with 19 days to spare! cc: @dougbensonland.bsky.social
My ranking of all 50 nominees: letterboxd.com/agrajag/list...
With the pulsating rave score, I should've known SIRAT wouldn't have an expected story path. I literally screamed "WTF?!" at the midpoint shock & yet even that didn't prepare me for the explosive final act to come. Some nice scenes about found family, but confusing motivations 3* #ODR 50/50 125/125
Can't believe how deep the school indoctrination goes in MR NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN & how many things reminded me of the current state of the US. Pavel is such a courageous teacher, capturing the propaganda spewed at his students. I hope he stays safe & doesn't become a Navalny 3.5* #ODR 49/50 123/125
A FRIEND OF DOROTHY is a lovely short with stellar acting from Margolyes & Nwachukwu (Lloyd is too much of a grandson caricature w/ too many bad line readings for me). Loved watching Dorothy & JJ bond over a shared love of theatre, even if the story was pretty by the numbers 3.5* #ODR 48/50 122/125
Like the first film, NE ZHA 2 nails all the animated fight scenes—some truly epic action here that probably looked great in 3D. However, the story & mythology behind it are even worse this time around, introducing so many new characters that I couldn't be bothered to care who was good or bad. 3*
It took a while to get into CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS, but I was locked in after the elections. Sara's struggles to bring prosperity to her village shouldn't surprise me, but the extent sure did. Amazing how a motorcycle ride could almost bring tears (first of joy, then of anger) 4* #ODR 47/50 121/125
O'Brien gives two great performances in TWINLESS & his chemistry with Sweeney is electric. Loved Sweeney's direction (from that split screen party scene to all the mirror shots) & his writing (the early reveal to us but slow roll to the character). Loved Franciosi in her supporting role 4.5*
MICKEY 17 wasn't as bad as I'd heard! An odd follow-up to Parasite, sure, but a fun sci-fi romp reminiscent of Murderbot. Pattinson gets to be all sorts of weird with every re-print (his voice as 17 reminded me of Buscemi) & Ackie plays off him well. Loved Ruffalo & Collette as the bad guys. 4*
I knew what VOICE OF HIND RAJAB was about but I was still unprepared for such horror. Hearing Hind's voice alongside the re-enactment of the Red Crescent's absurd attempts to save her was heartbreaking. And to think this is just one of countless atrocities still happening FP🇵🇸 4.5* #ODR 46/50 120/125
LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN is a French-Belgian anime evocative of Ghibli at times. Amelie is a precocious toddler who begins the film thinking she's God. Her relationship w/ nanny Nishio-san is adorable & nearly made me cry. Some gorgeous animation & a lovely score 4* #ODR 45/50 119/125
