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Poor Things (2023)
Wonderful 'film,' but morally rotten
The good:
Everything about the film-making here is as good as it gets. The setting is re-imagined steampunk victorian London, and other gilded age (does that term apply in Europe?) cities. All of it very dashing art nouveau, very evocative of Gaudí. The art nouveau part was particularly well-placed I think, as it relates to the moral undertones of the story (see more below). Performances were great, especially from Emma Stone and Willem Defoe. The score was not particularly pleasant to listen to, but fit the movie very well. Pacing was good. Dialogue was engaging.
The bad:
All of the male characters were either complete pushovers (Max McCandles) or possessive monsters (Duncan Wedderburn, Alfie Blessington)--with the exception of God himself. The core message of the movie is that fidelity is possession. Any of the characters expecting any kind of commitment from Bella were portrayed as singularly self-interested. To let Bella be free was to accept virtue into their lives. Now, this works in the context of the movie because Bella is not a real person--she needs nothing from nobody, she lives only off of her own will and ambition and delight in the world around her. The mechanic of her 'being her own mother' becomes an apt metaphor here, as she is emotionally beholden to no one and cannot understand why anyone would need to be. She does not desire to have children (and it's sort of implied that she cannot have any?). This is IMO not a realistic depiction of the human condition. Play this out for a second--is there really anyone in the world that needs nothing from anyone, ever? That is not how people work. Fidelity exists because at some point in your life, you will need to rely on someone else--and that person will only help you if you have shown them respect and helped them when they are down. It's very convenient that Bella is not born but rather made, as it's the only way this philosophy is actually workable and believable. The only problem is that the movie's creators clearly want you to apply their philosophy to human life as well. Bella is a cadaver, and to her, life is about experiencing things. But we are born, and life is about connections to the people around us. The worldview portrayed in this movie is great if you're an AI or a zombie or otherwise emotionally bereft, but for us humans, we should all be aware that this is not what living is.
(Just a quick note on the usage of Art nouveau--this seemed very fitting... I am not really knowledgeable about art history, but art nouveau seemed to me to be part of romanticism which is in tension with art deco and modernism. Art deco is positive--technological progress guiding humanity towards a more moral future. Romanticism is about the experience of nature and the sublime, which in this movie is just intercourse. The most I know about romanticism are the romantic poets. Many of whom had messed up interpersonal lives and died tragically at young ages. Quite fitting.)
The Sea Beast (2022)
Best adventure movie i've seen in a while
I'm a grown man and I had to hold back tears at several points in this movie. Just a wonderful movie for all ages. Surprisingly deep characterizations and incisive. There was one scene (no spoilers!) that reminded of War and Peace in a way... the inevitability of conflict. And done very well too, and put in ways that both children and adults can understand. Also some heavy literary references, especially to the old testament and Moby Dick. Really, really under appreciated movie and I can't recommend it enough.
Some of the more topical political overtones were a bit ham-handed, but eh, not really more so that what Hollywood has been churning out these days...
Oh--it's also very thrilling and the animation is incredible!
Bravo, Netflix!
The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Creative and fun but a bit on the nose...
First of all, I am an adult... I do not have a family. I am not the target audience for this movie.
That being said, I was going in with hopes that it would be close to as good as Into the Spiderverse (maybe a ridiculous assumption as that was one of the best films the year it came out). It was definitely not that.
The robots/blow-y up-y bits were really fun. But the whole family tension thing... not for me. And it's not that I don't appreciate that stuff done well, it was like it was every other scene... so much of the movie was devoted to the family drama aspect that the overall plot and the stakes of it felt a bit hollow. There are ways to do both effectively, like The Incredibles. But this just came off as preachy, overly wordy, and very direct.
But overall it was a fine movie, the animation was great, it was actually really witty with some kinda wild adult humor at times (cthulhu furby? Yes, please!). Just wish it was a bit less on the nose with it's family message and let the whole plot breathe more.
Beirut (2018)
Good spy mystery / thriller
Good plot, good twists, assumes a certain attention span and involvement on the part of the viewer which I appreciate. One of the better meat-and-potatoes spy mysteries of the past decade. I wish Hollywood made more of this type of movie.
Designated Survivor (2016)
It's ok
It's a west- wing style political drama...
the plot twists are a bit weak and can be seen coming a mile away. obvious plot holes are not addressed. the payoffs are generally not very satisfying.
but i'll probably still watch the whole thing cause... quarantine...
Murder Mystery (2019)
Really not a bad flick
It's not a great film, but it's a decent flick... If you like mystery, this ones alright. The comedy is not all that funny, mostly mid-aughts super broad and a bit cheesy... but Sandler has some good lines in there.
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020)
it's a fun show in space
It's honestly more like rick and morty than star trek, which is good because i like rick and morty and i don't like star trek
Appare-Ranman! (2020)
Such a good concept and execution
I love this anime. The concept of a cross-country race in turn-of-the-century USA is so much fun, especially for those of us whose interests include both motorsports AND anime (although I recognize this is a niche). The show is mostly light and punchy, and the visuals are spectacular. At first the design of the cars kinda bothered me but they grew on me, especially Appare's boat car. The characters are also pretty well-defined, and each is given a satisfying arc. It isn't afraid to be violent or serious, while most of it is PG-13 in terms of themes and dialogue, making an interesting combination.
BNA (2020)
not bad
This was my first real anime, after Avatar: the last airbender. it's kind of for furries, but it's pretty fun. great visuals, great music, the story isn't great but it doesn't get too much in the way. i'm not a furry.
Watchmen (2019)
Both preachy about race and exploitative of it
This is such peak 2019 faux social justice bull crap.
The entire premise is made to appeal to liberals wanting their worldview parroted back to them. And yet, all the violence happens to the black people, in the most horrific ways. The only way Hollywood knows how to lift black people up is to constantly repeat the trauma they've sustained for dramatic effect. Also they open with a black woman wearing asian garb and saying she's from Saigon, when clearly she's not asian she's just an asian-looking black woman. And of course they have the stupid ching-chong-plink-plonk asian zither music accompanying... seriously hollywood, if you're gonna try to be progressive about race, don't also at the same time shamelessly traffic in stereotypes.
Apart from the show's political confusion... yeah there's not much to it beyond that. It spends so much time cashing in on the zeitgeist that it doesn't actually create any kind of compelling story. Nice production tho.
Watchmen (2019)
Both preachy about race and exploitative of it
This is such peak 2019 faux social justice bull crap.
The entire premise is made to appeal to liberals wanting their worldview parroted back to them. And yet, all the violence happens to the black people, in the most horrific ways. The only way Hollywood knows how to lift black people up is to constantly repeat the trauma they've sustained for dramatic effect. Also they open with a black woman wearing asian garb and saying she's from Saigon, when clearly she's not asian she's just an asian-looking black woman. And of course they have the stupid ching-chong-plink-plonk asian zither music accompanying... seriously hollywood, if you're gonna try to be progressive about race, don't also at the same time shamelessly traffic in stereotypes.
Apart from the show's political confusion... yeah there's not much to it beyond that. It spends so much time cashing in on the zeitgeist that it doesn't actually create any kind of compelling story. Nice production tho.
Girls (2012)
I love this show
I had low expectations, considering it was so loved by critics and my understanding was that it was very PC and part of that whole movement. However, the show is so much more than that. The dialogue is fresh and interesting, and all the situations seem realistic and resonant to me, a dude in his mid-20s. "I could be the voice of my generation," sez Lena Dunham, "Or... at least, A voice of A generation." Honestly I would have no problem voting for her in a 'voice of the millennials' contest. The acting is wonderful, especially Dunham and Adam Driver. I can see how he got the Star Wars part from this. He's actually so much better in this than in Star Wars.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
Actually a good movie
I don't understand all the people not liking the story. The story was great! Yes, there are definitely plot holes and timing/editing issues. But overall, the story was twisty and had a nice payoff.