The Father takes a brave approach to the question of aging. Florian Zeller, director and co-writer, tells the story from the point of view of Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) who is obviously not in full control of his mental faculties.
Dunkirk reminds me of 2001: A Space Odyssey – at least what little I remember of it – but with less classical music. Both are critical favorites but there is just an empty feeling when the
characters barely talk. Well, empty is a strong word but more a feeling that something is missing.
La La Land, to
the best of my recollection, is the first musical I have ever seen only
because I swore to finish this personal project of seeing every 2017 Oscar Best
Picture Nominee.
As expected I find it hard taking
the acting seriously and subsequently the story when people break out to sing and
dance. So instead of a character I focused on a song and City of Stars stood
out. The song was my emotional goal post. I appreciated the ending because through it I understood why.
I've seen eight best picture nominees now in the 2017 Oscars. La la Land, the 9th, will be the last. Even with one movie still out this one has risen to the top of my list. Implicit in the title is the bravery
and there was; but what makes this movie endearing is the tenderness hidden
underneath. Lion actually is a story of love, the best kind that anyone will
ever have in this life.
Arrival is
the latest in a line of movies that can be described as watered down science fiction where flashy high tech is removed just to keep close to reality. Previous movies are Interstellar and The Martian.
It was funny at
first, a woman in midsized heels running to another building just to pee. Then
it became depressing as she still had to relieve herself in another building even
under heavy rain. Eventually it was just idiotic because even in a great emergency
Katherine Goble (Katherine Johnson when she married) would still be in the
other building because she is black.
This is
definitely not the stereotypical black movie.
In trying to
recall the few movies with generally African American characters that I have seen these are what
I came up with: Cage (ok ok, not a movie); The Nutty Professor; 42;
He Got Game. Given that, the stereotypical black then would be a sportsman or
gangbanger. Moonlight doesn’t fit in any of those because the protagonist does
not know who he is which, for some reason, skewed into gender identity.
I watched the movie without having seen the trailer so what I wrote I learned organically scene by scene. Apparently the trailer contained what took half the movie to know which either speaks bad of the movie or of the trailer. You would have googled it anyway so I embedded the trailer in the end. The opening was prototypical.
A bank robbed by
two men. Cowboy hat and a large belt
buckle worn by the manager meant it was Texas. Once the robberies became a
spree it was cue in the Texas Rangers time. Bank robbery, cowboys, and Rangers
in hot pursuit; if the movie had horses it might still have worked. But even without horses, with the elements already
available I can see an ending that would fit a Bon Jovi song.
You just know a
movie is so well put together when you see it.
It’s almost like a song, like the rhythm is right; you’re feeling no
bumps.
Hacksaw Ridge is
a movie that is beautifully put together, the best so far among the movies I
have seen in this year’s list of Oscar nominees for best picture. So far I’ve
seen Fences and Manchester by the Sea previously. If the great Robert Downey Jr. who is the
poster child of falling from grace and coming back again could not remove Mel Gibson from the blacklist - Robert was or is hoping Mel direct an Iron Man movie - then maybe Mel’s work can. From what I see in this movie, Mel has not lost a step since directing
Apocalypto of 2006.
John Chandler’s (Kyle Chandler) last act,
posthumously, was to call for a handyman, his own brother Lee (Casey Affleck). He wrote in his last will and testament that
Lee is to be his son Patrick’s (Lucas Hedges) legal guardian when he dies. It was a wish
meticulously thought of and prepared for. John even set money aside to make sure his brother comes back to Manchester from that handyman job out of town and perform his charge.
I’ve barely
begun and already I’m counting out the scene – or is it three scenes? – waiting
for the switch or at least when Denzel Washington concedes charge of it. The
opening minutes of Fences felt as if Troy Maxson (Denzel) was going to carry
the story by brute force; talking all the time and appearing in nearly every
scene as the focal point and with almost the same energy.
