A charming fairy tale, well told. Not extraordinary, or exceptional, the Oscar Nominations told you that, but sometimes you just need a break from "Film as Art" and this was it.
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- Category: Film
I've been using my time off to catch up on a few movies. I'd like to say "wisely", but the movies, they've been all of them, every one, the stuff of nightmares.
The first, Oldboy, Korean, dark, I mean way-dark, black-dark, pitch-dark...Good, well acted, some great ideas, but - fucking hell, was it ever dark.
The second, Holy Motors, a variety of Tableaux set in and around Paris. Moments of brilliance, and - of course - of bleak and unrelenting darkness. And a curious - Theme? - if that's the word, brilliantly acted, the fuel of nightmares. I'm still not well, coughing, waking up in the night, I don't need this...
And finally The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Brilliant, savage - and - hey, do I gotta say it? Dark. Fucking bloody hell. In this instance, however, I forgive the darkness, the movie - the most linear and understandable of anything I've watched for a while, but still not even a ray of sunshine - that said, admirable in it's cinematography, execution, in the darkest of personal moments, clipped dialogue ...
...but at the moment I need to find something a bit lighter, a bit more cheery, not necessarily mindless - do the two always have to be mutually exclusive? But I'd like something that rather lifts my spirits for a change, I'm open to recommendations...
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I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, I do, after the lightness of the holiday fodder I wanted something with a little more depth and substance, and so I watched "Winter Light" by Ingmar Bergman. It's all that, but it's as well bleak and unforgiving, a masterpiece, perhaps, but not one tuned to my circumstance.
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And a few of the films I watched over the holidays with and without the daughter: Shot Caller - her choice, absolute BS Prison film. Like LOL ridiculous. Bullshit. The Sixth Sense, which she liked, the twist and all, but then described it to a friend as "about a dead child psychologist"...No spoilers here. Weiner, about the infamous politician of the same name, and while it's easy to judge there's too often the confusion between a politician - his or her professed viewpoints and politics, with the politician, the person, and not many people are good at both. "Sausage Party", and yes, I certainly have to admire Seth Rogen for imparting his own brand of pot-addled brilliance to ... well, really, what was I thinking? It was brilliant, for sure, but entirely not my thing and life's a little bit too short. And finally, the clear winner of the season - "Nice Guys" - which was that funny and then some. If you see one make it the last one.
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- Category: Film