The Goods: Film Reviews
Not a typical first contact movie, and all the better for it. This sci-fi epic deeply probes the relationship between faith and science; for Jodie Foster’s Eleanor, it finds the overlap. It’s thoughtful and heartfelt, and it builds to a terrific ending.
A solid, moody Hitchcock riff (by which I mean it pulls beats from at least 3 Hitchcock films). Pfeiffer is excellent as the heroine. It’s about 20 minutes too long, but the climax is suspenseful enough to make up for it.
It’s tempting to defend this because I admire Zemeckis’s gusto in making blockbusters with a new technology and toolkit, but I just don’t have it in me. It truly looks like a Playstation 2 game, and the macho bluster in the the story is eye-roll-inducing. The uncanny mocap just never works for me.
After a fireworks-filled opening and a middle act that asks tough questions about flawed heroics, the end is a bit of a mess (burn the coda in a fire, please). Compelling work from Denzel and Zemeckis overall.
A kooky horror screwball that escalates and escalates, featuring some all-timer body mutilation effects. A whole bucket of fun. The plot is shapeless, but that’s fine. The script is really nasty to its women and generous to its men in a cynical sort of way, which is slightly less fine.
A simple two-hander sketch that executes its premise pretty well and has a solid punchline. Of note due to its cult hit status as a New Year tradition in parts of Europe.
I like it more in concept than in practice — unlike the best Sesame Street specials, this feels more squarely targeted at kids with less consideration for the adult attention span. But the international Sesame Street coverage is intriguing, and there’s something apocalyptic about Telly’s fear of a new year.
When they’re singing, it’s watchable, and that’s about as far as I’ll go.
One of my favorite movies of the year — and it might have been my #1 favorite if it had cut out the cannibalism and just been a tragic romantic teenage odyssey, but that’s just a matter of personal taste, because what’s here works well. Guadagnino’s filmmaking is outstanding, the metaphoric purpose of “eaters” is never too on-the-nose, and the acting is very good (although when I hit play, I thought Zendaya was starring in this, and kept thinking how great she would have been).
I’m not convinced the retrospective framing story accomplishes much, though it perhaps adds some extra finality to the incredible shot that ends the movie.