By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week saw my filmwatching instincts fracture just a tad under the pressure of consistently programming Quarantine entertainment.
134. Johnny English Strikes Again
Sometimes something overtly silly is the only thing that will do, and if you’re in the market for something overtly silly then you are in safe hands when you put yourself in Rowan Atkinson’s. Is this another warmed over rehash of James Bond tropes? Sure. Does it feature Rowan Atkinson? Yes, yes it does. Three Beers.
135. An Elephant Sitting Still
There are two things you may have heard about this film. The first is that novelist turned filmmaker Hu Bo took his own life shortly after finishing this opus. The second is that it clocks in at just shy of 4 hours. What you might expect from these conjoined facts is a miserablist arthouse slog, and in some ways you’re not wrong. What emerges from the punishing but never gratuitous long takes shot like Malick on quaaludes and the many ways the four principal characters keep digging deeper, sadder holes for themselves is, strangely, something not far from hope. A true, tragic masterpiece of cinema. A Toast.
136. How to Talk to Girls at Parties
This Neil Gaiman adaptation is infused with plenty of director James Cameron Mitchell’s anarchic spirit and deep love for garish punk pageantry. Elle Fanning stars as an alien yearning for real human experiences and “that guy” Alex Sharp the erstwhile punk she enlists to show her his world. Things get pretty goddamn bonkers from there, and even if it’s a bit of a mess, it’s an entertaining one. Three Beers.
137. True History of the Kelly Gang
This star-studded (seriously, 10 minutes can’t pass without another recognizable face popping up) umpteenth recounting of the Ned Kelly story (one which was the basis of the first narrative film, natch), is almost perversely fixated on telling everything but the story of his famous final exploits. Instead it’s more interested in exploring how one of the world’s most famous outlaws was raised to be so by a harsh and unforgiving environment. Artistically rendered by Justin Kurzel returning to his native land, and full of performances just going for it, it’s not necessarily always consistently operating at the level of its highest highs, but it’s a fascinating film nonetheless. Two Beers.
138. Buffaloed
While it’s a bit short and slight for its Big Short or Wolf of Wall St. pretensions, and the mix of broad Buffalo, NY-based humor and sharply edited financial crime-speak is a bit odd, this is still a plenty entertaining concoction. The fact it stars Zooey Deutch, who clearly doesn’t know how to go any less than 100% no matter what the role, is the clincher.. Three Beers.
139. Confession
I have two acclaimed Korean films with the English titles of Confession, but this is the 2014 one, not the 2015 one, ya silly bastards. This one is about three best friends who survive a harrowing ordeal as children and stay close into adulthood despite two of them become petty criminals and the other a fireman. When an insurance scam involving the fireman’s parents’ business goes terribly awry, guilt and impossible secrets tear them apart. Three Beers.
140. The Deuce
David Simon decided to make a very (too?) real That 70s Show in his ode to the sleazy, drug and sex-filled pre-Giuliani New York. James Franco stars as twins of various degrees of seediness and Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a streetwalker with ambitions for much more. As is often the case with Simon projects, though, it’s already apparent that the magic is going to be in the supporting cast. I’m not far in, and its a bit of a slow-starter, but c’mon- it’s David Simon we’re talkin’ about heah. Two Beers.
