The Assassination of John Wick by the Cowards Beauty and the Beast
Over the last couple of weeks I saw: Beauty and the Beast (2017), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), Oh, Hello On Broadway (2017), Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), Paris Can Wait (2017) and Shimmer Lake (2017).
Beauty and the Beast
I was never a fan of the cartoon and I also recently saw the 1946 French version which was an interestingly made movie. I'm not the biggest fan of the story and I don't have any nostalgic attachment to the music, but the bright coloring of the film is actually quite impressive. The CGI didn't quite work for me, but it wasn't the worst viewing experience I have ever had.
Noms: none
John Wick: Chapter 2
While this is a bit more coherent than the first installment, it does not build on the excitement and unexpected excitement either. It's entertaining, but I felt myself losing focus in the middle of the movie as it drowns in sleepy dialogue.
Noms: none
Oh, Hello on Broadway
I laughed for the entirety of this movie, and like the play, I did not take an intermission. The direction is a bit odd at times and that's really a result of being a live film, however it does feel like the filming allows to notice more details that probably wouldn't be seen live.
Noms: none
Mommy Dead and Dearest
I remember seeing this story hit the news when some of the peculiarities started to come out and thinking it was a crazy case. This is an interestingly put together documentary that might have been better served to wait a little longer for all of the legal proceedings to bring out more facts of the case. Well made doc about a crazy set of events.
Noms: none
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
I felt this was a bit of a slog when I first saw it, but this rewatch was revelatory. I did not remember how interestingly this was shot, some scenes shot in ways to make it looks like 150 year old plate glass photos. The ensemble cast has aged especially well, maybe aside from the guy who left Parks and Recreation in one of the early seasons after he seemed like he would be a lead of the show. Somehow the score felt so familiar that I swear I have had it running through recesses of my subconscious for that last ten years. I felt like I could hum along to the score the second I started the movie.
Noms: Cinematography by Roger Deakins, Score for the film, Ensemble casting.
Paris Can Wait
This movie isn't groundbreaking or edgy, but it might be the most calming and relaxing movie I've seen in a while. It has a soothing soundtrack and score of french music, themes of traveling, taking beautiful stills, and offers a bit of a visual feast of food. I'm not really one to be won over by food porn so I was glad this movie didn't linger on moaning while eating scenes as much as other filmmakers might have.
Noms: Music for the film.
Shimmer Lake
This is written in a very different way from most movies. It tells the story backwards, one day at a time after a heist. It does a good job at revealing twists by going back in time, but this method surprisingly creates confusion over the characters. I thought this would be funnier and despite the work put in to making the storytelling to make some sense, it doesn't feel labored and works okay as a movie. I would still like to see what happens after the first scene in the movie, and the rest of the movie continues with some disappointment over that. I probably would have been more wowed by the writing technique if I hadn't just read a synopsis of the Noe Gaspar movie Irreversible.
Noms: none
