Fiction of 2019

[nerdietalk]

Hell yeah, a new and improved obsessive list

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August

[nerdietalk]

War Games

So this was pitched to me as a goofy kid adventure movie and I was so tense and terrified throughout. This flick skirts the edge of terror, making the final minutes where they desperately try to stop the end of the world all the more hectic and gripping. The punchline of the film ends on a perfect note without drawing out questions about everyone's fate. A great ride.

Ed Wood

This is Doug Walker's fourth favorite "character" and I couldn't stop thinking about all the ways he clearly projected his own shit onto him. Yes, Ed Wood has a passion for film that pushes him to pursue a career he has no talent in. This is true. But Doug zeroed in on that and not the part where Ed was also making the movie for his friends. He wanted the crew to have a fun time. He wanted people to praise Bela Legosi. Doug Walker focusing only on "I want to make movies no matter WHAT people tell me" is so. Doug.

Cool movie, also, by the way.

Creature of the Black Lagoon

It probably was supposed to be scary but the creature's death is just really pitiful and its really hard to buy him as a monster. He's just doing his best. Let him live.

Bridge on the River Kwai

Gorgeous movie depicting an obsessive clash between ideologies and cultures. Nicholson's obsession with proving his strength is initially played as an admiral display of willpower. But when he has a chance to keep his men from work, his comrades, his fellow prisoners of war, he instead zeros in on this bridge as a way to prove his own abilities. When he starts talking about what the bridge would actually need to his own men, its hard not to feel like you're losing your mind. I basically spent most of his remaining scenes with my head in my hands, in utter disbelief that this was where he thought his priorities lay. His inability to realize he already won against his captors and was now committing treason in an attempt to break the warden. Its so buckwild and fascinating to watch.

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusader

Evil Adam West Batman is Nolan Batman. I love it. Its so so good.

Kinda wish they went with Eartha Kitt Catwoman but I get why they went with the one who was, you know, alive to do voice work.

Unforgiven

The theme of Eastwood falling back into darkness was fairly well done and there's a lot of care to portray violence as a complicated and brutal act that helps no one. I think it kind of falls apart in places, but the parts that work work.

Miller's Crossing

Weirdly enjoyable Coen Bros film. Tom's loyalty and motives is under question throughout and even at the end its unclear exactly what kind of man he is. But he did everything he could to help Leo, at the cost of everything else he cared about.

American Grafitti

Incredibly boring. Good actors, probably ground-breaking, but I was bored out of my mind.

Brian Banks

TV movie-esque but I'll stan for Aldis Hodge any day. That man can ACT.

The Great Hack

HELLWORLD. HELLWORLD.

A Fish Called Wanda

Kinda dumb! I think I would like it more if the humor was... I don't know, there was something about it that bugged me. I liked the Kevin Kline scenes! Otto was just too much for me.

Mad Max

God I hated this. Its weird seeing the franchise start on the verge of apocalypse? But Max's starting point is boring and his family is so obviously slated to die for angst. I think Mad Max might be better without the backstory. Its all so whatever.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

I watched this in two different chunks weeks apart and each chunk fucked me up. Jesus. Its so devastating. Incredible movie about the IRA, the search for freedom under the British, and more.

Planet of the Apes

Holds up insanely well. Great costumes, great actors, great dialogue. I kind of expected it to be a B-Movie that got popular, but its actually an incredible film with a lot to say. There's this compelling throughline of two characters arguing for a cause they don't believe in. Holden's character and Dr. Zaius aren't actually pro-human/pro-monkey, but that's the side they were born in and that's the side they'll stay with.

Handmaiden

Powerful story about women being pit against each other by evil men, before realizing how much they cared about each other and taking those dirtbags down. I can't say more than that without getting fucked up by feelings again.

The Postman

I fell for this movie hard. Its got major problems (too long, lame straight romance, pacing issues, too jingoistic) but I would love to see a remake that goes even harder. I can see why it failed in the 90s, but it was the perfect movie for right now in my life.

Shoplifters

Most of it didn't really... grab me at first.. But that's the thing- its all building to the final climax where the dream world falls apart. It wants you to see the cracks, but buy so totally into their happiness that you can ignore the flaws on the horizon. It was only that I realized this world was on the verge of collapse that I was finally gripped. Were they right to do what they did? Maybe not. But it was the best possible outcome for everyone. And the outside world doesn't care. The cameras flash on the decrepit house and see monsters. "We have no way of knowing what they did in that house." They can't imagine the love that existed there. The family that was built. They can only see the mistakes and the sacrifices made to survive. The majority view wins. The outsiders and children thrown away lose.

Gaslight

I'm so uncomfortable

Network

I'm so uncomfortable.

9

Weird movie, but gorgeous and well-crafted. I saw complaints that it was short but I think its just enough without over-staying its welcome. Its a really weird topic for an animated flick but it pulls it off well.

Harakira

Stunned to discover this wasn't a Kurosawa. A skewering of the samurai honor and demonstrates how this idea can be perverted for the sake of reputation. The Clan believes in their own classist bullshit so much and the climax of the story revolves around Hanshiro destroying every brick of their foundation of honor. He proves how for all their bragging, not a single one of them will commit to what they preach. The wild laughter of Hanshiro as he unveils the next step in his scheme is so infectious. What a legend.

Hellboy (2004)

Saw the second one first years ago- this one has more depth and its just a fun ride. Had a total blast watching it.

Goodbye Lenin

The core tragedy of the movie isn't the son's determination to let his mom believe Russia is still intact. Its that he wants to go back to that same time that he knows he was oppressed. All these people know that the government was corrupt, but the new world has no place for them. Their struggle to adjust to this world is the key piece of the film.

The Great Escape

I don't think it has a lot to say, but its a thrilling escape movie!

Memories of a Murder

You can't change the system. Even if you're a "good cop," the frustrations and desperation will change you too, until you're just as bad.