Fiction of 2019

[nerdietalk]

Hell yeah, a new and improved obsessive list

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September

[nerdietalk]

Passion of Joan of Arc

Really powerful. Well-received for a reason. Biggest surprise was that it was mainly based on the trial notes, so it could claim much more accuracy than most of these kinds of films. Was thrilled the entire, hard to watch journey through Joan's final days. God damn.

A Brighter Summer Day

So I went into this thinking it might be bullshit and too long but it actually has quite a lot to say and it knows how to say it. There's things that escape me because I don't have the right cultural context but. I was still really fascinated through the whole film. I think there's a sensation with these specific kinds of film where the treatment of women is appalling but it definitely was intended as a damnation of this sort of behavior, not a belief that the behavior is right. Ming gets put through the wringer while she's looking for someone mature and normal and that's accurate to that experience! Sucks, but its true to life. The secret police subplot is terrifying and unsettling, but I'm sure that's true to life too. Whew! A heck of a movie!

Steven Universe: The Movie

About the same mixed feelings I have about all of Steven Universe. Its so full of joy and delight and optimism but... Criminy. The Diamonds thing is so distracting.

Great music, great villain, great characters, but wowza those Diamonds.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold

A legitimately delightful movie with a delightful hero. You want to root for Dora and you want her to win and you know she'll turn this cynical world around. Its a treat!

Ben-Hurr

Folks, I think I hate this fucking flick.

The Sixth Sense

Jokes aside, a genuinely remarkable film. Knowing the famous twist enhances instead of destroys. Every actor knocks it out of the park and you're loving every second. Wow!

Princess Mononoke

Its Ghibli. Its good. Probably my favorite, even? Its easier to notice that for all Miyazaki fans praise his female characters, they're all kind of. samey. But Lady Eboshi is incredible as a complicated villain. The world is very carefully paced to let you see both sides and how, in the end, nature is going to lose if we aren't careful. But there's also still magic in the world.

Red Rock West

Dad said Bad Times at El Royle reminded him of this. People are sleeping on some STUNNING flicks, goddamn. Nic Cage goes subtle here but it absolutely works. You buy him as this dude who slipped on on his moral ground once (lying to a potential boss) and immediately gets swept into a complete mess that he wants nothing to do with. The world won't accept half-measures. You can be a crook and succeed or you stay righteous and hope to survive. He keeps trying to finagle the situation to keep the stolen money while keeping everyone alive and the world punishes him for it each time. Only when he gives up the money does he finally get to escape Red Rock knowing that no one else got hurt. And he gets a few hundred for his trouble! Its a great western neo-noir. Give it a look.

F For Fake

I'm not gonna lie, the beginning is a bit too mad-dash to work and its hard to follow at first. Eventually, it settles into a nice rhythm and lets itself breathe with what its trying to say. The last twenty minutes are kinda ugh but its almost worth it for the punchline.