How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)

There are two really striking parts of this movie. First are the visuals. Never have I seen such real-looking animated clouds, grass, ocean, and sand. It is stunning. We get to appreciate the scenery with lots of wide shots with small swarms of dragons in a corner. The soundtrack is also fantastic. It is at once reminiscent of Mussorgsky and Debussy and Bernstein. In my head I could hear the music from West Side Story when Tony and Maria spot each other from across the gym. It would have been perfect for the courtship of Toothless and the Light Fury. I was sort of indifferent about the story. In fact, I kind of got some mixed messaging. I remember a message of tolerance. They lived in a world where the Vikings killed dragons. Hiccup taught them to live with the dragons in harmony. And in this movie, we are taught that you can't change peoples. They ultimately have to run from their problem. And in the end, they can't live together in harmony. The dragons must go off on their own. There is a message about letting go in there but in the wider context of the trilogy, it seems a little inconsistent.

The Aftermath (2019)

I'm usually a fan of romantic movies in which it doesn't work out. But the ending of this movie just really didn't work for me, spoiler alert. The movie is not nearly as tantalizing as it thinks it is. It has about enough content for the trailer, and that's about it. The daughter's subplot is neither interesting nor does it really add anything to the story. Keira Knightley is divine but her character is not likable. None of the characters are very likable for that matter. Points for the sound though...you hear the heartbeats? And points for costumes, those sweaters.

Gloria Bell (2018)

I am familiar with La Mujer Fantastica, which has a similar use of light and the same enchanting use of music. That was my favorite part. Gloria Bell is a remake of the Chilean film Gloria that I hear is exactly the same, frame for frame, song for song, same crew and all.  I haven't seen the original but I don't really understand why this was necessary except as a vehicle for Julianne Moore. She is excellent and quite funny in a role that is rare for an actress of her age but that's beside the point. Did the director feel compelled to remake his own film in English? Is he saying something about universality?  Was an American audience not willing to watch a more culturally specific movie? Are older white singles really into Earth, Wind and Fire?

Climax (2018)

I've seen over a thousand movies. I have never seen a movie as intense as Climax. This is the most deranged, not necessarily scary, movie I have ever seen. And yet, Gaspar Noe's latest is mesmerizing. It is provocative yet watchable It is Step Up in Hell. It is Suspiria on drugs. It is about a dance troupe that is about to go on tour. They have their final rehearsal (in which they totally kill it) and then celebrate. Long story short, someone spikes the sangria with LSD and the second half of the movie is one bad trip. The movie is extremely energetic. The movie is made up of some highly ambitious shots. Not only is there obviously the dance choreography, but the camera movement is also very choreographed. There are many long unbroken takes. I know there are some cuts but many you don't even notice. I just want to be able to talk to someone about this, but I can't in good faith recommend this movie to other people. I watched this by myself and it messed me up.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Marvel's first movie to feature a female hero is a trip back to the 90s. 90s nostalgia is apparently in right now following Bumblebee. The 90s music was a really nice touch--of course there is some Gwen Stefani. The use of music is actually reminiscent of a movie I think they were indeed trying to emulate: Top Gun. Our hero is an aspiring air force fighter pilot (they didn't let women fly back then). And the cat is named Goose, like the character from Top Gun.

Brie Larson is phenomenal. The movie fortunately does not fall into the trap of many an action movie. There is no love interest. I think it is telling that the first Marvel movie with a female hero does not focus on romance. The Bechdel test is passed in the beginning of the movie. And Samuel L Jackson's supporting part is a lot of fun. We're familiar with much of the Avengers lore, but this movie brings us back and fills in some of the gaps we didn't know existed. And Jackson is a great singer too.

Apollo 11 (2019)

Apollo 11 is a magnificent movie about a feat of engineering and the inspiring human spirit at the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The movie consists solely of archival footage (and a few animations to demonstrate phases of the mission), including authentic sound. There are no voice overs, no interviews, just pure footage pulled from the archives, some never seen before. We obviously know how it ends, but the movie still manages to be thrilling. The footage speaks for itself. I wonder if I had any memory of the moon landing if I would have experienced the movie differently. I loved seeing all the (mostly) men who worked on the Apollo mission behind the scenes and the many who camped out in their cars to see the launch. It is interesting to compare this to They Shall Not Grow Old, another recent documentary featuring amazing archival footage. Let's hope there's more of that.

Winter's Bone (2010)

This is one I've been meaning to watch for a long time. It was the only Best Picture nominee since 2010 that I had missed. Prompted by Debra Granik's powerful Leave No Trace this year, I caught Winter's Bone. And I admit I was a little disappointed. I thought it was kind of boring. This is the movie that made Jennifer Lawrence a star. She is an optimistic figure in what is otherwise a bleak Ozark landscape in a relentlessly brutal movie. I just wasn't in the mood for this kind of movie.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Little Miss Sunshine is a hilarious feel-good movie. It is unassuming but delightful. Each character is such a character, brought to life by a strong cast. The young Abigail Breslin is brilliant. I found myself genuinely laughing on my redeye flight at approximately 3AM. This was way better than sleeping.

The Birth of a Nation (2016)

Remember back when The Birth of a Nation premiered at Sundance? It became an immediate Oscar front runner until it was derailed by controversy surrounding the director. But let's face the truth: it was never going to win Best Picture. I saw this movie just a week after Green Book won Best Picture in a year of landmark movies by black directors. The Academy was never going to award a movie about a black slave revolt. It's simply too radical for mainstream Hollywood. It's a powerful and provocative movie. And if it makes you uncomfortable, that was the intention.

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Good Night and Good Luck is a sleek movie about Edward R. Murrow's public battle with the notorious Senator McCarthy. It uses quite a bit of authentic archival footage in original black and white. As a consequence, the whole movie is filmed in black and white to match, and it's an excellent choice. The movie looks really good. It's more relevant today than it even could have predicted. In 2019, journalists, on TV and otherwise, play an extremely important role in holding government officials accountable. Maybe it serves as a lesson on how to take put a stop to Donald Trump.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Rebel Without a Cause is so overly melodramatic it's almost funny. Maybe Tommy Wiseau understood that and was trying to parody James Dean ("You're tearing me apart!"). The movie obviously has cultural and historical value, but I don't know that it plays so well in 2019.  That kind of melodrama is something perhaps more typical of a Chinese movie nowadays. The disaffected white suburban teen was certainly a phenomenon at the time but it feels quite foreign in contemporary America. Who are these privileged white folk complaining about their illegitimate "problems"? In some scenes, I almost lost sight of just what James Dean was so upset about. I gather that the adults just can't understand, but I don't really get it either. That red jacket though is great.

Wildlife (2018)

Man, Wildlife is boring. I acknowledge that it is well composed and Carey Mulligan is divine. But Montana is really uninteresting. And the movie is quiet and slow and wholly depressing. This poor kid is trying to hold his family together and he gets zero help. It's hard to appreciate the great performances through the depression.

Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben) (2018)

Everybody Knows is Asghar Farhadi's Spanish-language debut. What made him decide to make this movie in Spanish, I don't know, as it isn't really a uniquely Spanish movie. It's a kidnapping drama about secrets in a small town. As the title suggests, everybody knows, everybody but the audience. But even the audience can deduce the secret constantly hinted at. I think the real twist is that knowing the secret doesn't solve the mystery. It doesn't answer who the kidnapper is. It sort of makes that central mystery inconsequential. And that's why though we get an answer at the end, the movie abruptly comes to a fade to white close. It's not about the kidnapper, but the secret.

Alita: Batte Angel (2019)

How would I describe Alita? The trailer doesn't really reveal the secret that this is a roller derby movie. Yeah, that was unexpected. It's a very violent movie as roller derby is. The visual effects accommodate the violence. The visuals are pretty cool. I wasn't a big fan of the plot though. And the ending was unsatisfying. Don't make me watch the sequel to find out how it ends.

To Kill A Mockingbird (Broadway) (2019)

Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird is finally on Broadway. It's a very engaging play though allegedly different from the original. Atticus isn't quite as I remember him in the movie. He is a flawed character, perhaps more close to the original character in the book. His moral compass is perhaps too strong, choosing to see the good in everyone to the fault of ignoring faults. He is a passive character whose moral convictions prevent him from striking out against those who would take advantage of him. In some ways, he is the moderate liberal who understands the detrimental effects of racism but refuses to fault the racists. He cannot believe that his neighbors in small town Alabama are evil. What seems obvious to the audience and the kids is hard for him to accept. That makes him a much more complex character than I remember. I'll have to pay a visit to the book.

The play is very Aaron Sorkin. The dialogue is fast and crowded. Jeff Daniels walks (paces) and talks (cross-examines). It is much funnier than the book/movie, which works on stage, but perhaps detracts a little from the seriousness of the subject matter. The set is simple but effective. Celia Keenan-Bolger is a fine Scout, but it is a little hard to get past the full-grown woman playing a 5-year old. That goes for all the kids played by adults. There are two musicians on stage, an organ and guitar. The music is atmospheric, probably unnecessary, but adds a nice light touch for a riveting night at the theater.

Shoplifters (2018)

Hirokazu Koreeda's Palme d'Or winner is a powerful meditation on family, as are all of his films. In his previous works, he has analyzed different family dynamics, but in this film he uniquely asks what makes a family? He does slow, careful, bittersweet drama so well. Don't take anything for granted. The screenplay slowly unravels what he wants you to know when he wants you to know it. But you must pay close attention to the dialogue. Everything is deliberate. This is Kiki Kirin's final performance. She was an frequent collaborator with Koreeda and she is just as magnificent in this movie. All the performances are believable as one big content family.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-9)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was always a fun show to have on. The concept was so bizarre, the characters so out there and so very extreme, and the execution always very happy-go-lucky. Lilian was the authentic New Yorker worried about gentrification in her neighborhood. Tituss was the aspiring actor with dreams of The Lion King on Broadway. Jacqueline was the rich socialite. And Kimmy, the new arrival trying to strike out on her own in the big city. Together they represented a cross section of this wacko town, obviously to a caricatured degree, but there's a degree of truth in caricature. That's why it's funny.