The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

The Coen Brothers' latest movie is a Western anthology. Comprised of six stories of varying length and depth. They are all humorous in one way or another. Some end happily, some don't. But all are entertaining. The stories have little to do with each other, sharing only the wild west theme. There is quite a decent amount of singing too--you never quite know what to expect. I must admit I did not understand the last story, but after reading more about it online, I realized juts how creepily dark and brilliant it is. Even if you're not into Westerns, it is worthwhile viewing.

Sufragette (2015)

The protagonist, played by Carey Mulligan, is a young working class woman who does not like to be classified as a Suffragette, but when her husband predictably throws her out she takes up the cause wholeheartedly.  Both Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter are excellent. Meryl Streep gets a brief moment in the spotlight as activist Emmeline Pankhurst. Her screen time is very brief, emphasizing to the audience that the groundwork done by average women was of utmost importance to the cause.  Pankhurst served as inspiration, but the people had to act on their own--change is effected from the grassroots.  Their method is militancy, and yet the audience is made to sympathize with the suffragettes who are thwarted by the patriarchal society of Great Britain.

The camerawork is very unsettling throughout the movie.  Much like any effective activism, it is in-your-face.  The camera is so close to Carey Mulligan's face, that the viewers are quite uncomfortable. But you should feel uncomfortable, because in order to upend the status quo, we cannot be satisfied with comfort.  The cinematography understands this and does not let the audience forget it.  The end of the film has a fade to white, followed by real, powerful archival footage from 1913, which is pretty incredible in and of itself.

I got to see an advanced screening of this movie at The Charles Theater by the Gender Studies Department at JHU!

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow avoids the trap that so many science fiction films fall into.  The concept is refreshingly different and makes you think and thankfully, the plot is not so insane that you can't follow the story.  That comes down to good execution.  The audience doesn't know exactly what's going on until Tom Cruise's character finds out for himself, at which point it is described in thorough detail to make sure we all get it.  My one complaint on the plot is a minor glitch in the timeline that is either not explained well enough or an overlooked mistake.  

The movie resembles a video game, in which death only means starting again from the last checkpoint.  If you get it wrong the first time, you can go back and try again.  What we take for granted in video games is used in the movie as military strategy in a battle that resembles an alien D-Day.  Each day plays the same way, much like a computer program written to do very specific things in a game. Continuing the theme, the imaginative design of the movie is reminiscent of video games, complete with full-battle suits and robotic aliens.