The Goods: Film Reviews
I adore Shirley MacLaine, so much of the writing, and the production. Sad holiday vibes are some of the best on film. I really felt a bit of a stumble in the dark middle act twist, which is dramatically intriguing but narratively a momentum-killer for the screwball pace the film had built. So I’m just a bit ambivalent, but still enraptured. On a rewatch maybe this is a Masterpiece candidate.
Reviewed and rated on the podcast
Not at all good, but maybe not as horrible as it could have been. Get rid of the kid actor, though.
The ultimate predestination time travel movie with a puzzle box plot of clever timeline interactions and consequences. Visual verve and invention blend with rich themes of subjectivity and the perilous state of sanity in modernity.
It’s Chrsitmas!
Amazing screenplay. So clever and nasty and evocative, and the satire is more relevant than ever. The “I’m mad as hell” scene is truly an all-timer moment.
Faye Dunaway stole my heart.
Unnecessarily mean-spirited with shoe-horned emotional development that just doesn’t work. But some of these gags are gut-busters. And they’re all in the 2-minute trailer, so just watch that instead.
Epochally great, super influential, iconic zombie flick that I somehow missed before the age of 32. I could do without the “radiation from Venus” goofball stuff, but otherwise this is low-budget perfection with some strong social commentary at its core.