Patricia Collins – Page 2

3SMReviews: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wasn’t at the top of my watch list, but it was at the top of the boyfriend’s and so we went. And I’m so glad because this movie has the most stunning, innovative animation I’ve seen in a very long time.* The introduction of other Spider-Men/Women/Animals added a layer of fun and the voice acting was superb.**

Cost: $9.40
Where watched: Regal City Center Stadium 12 Cinemas with Matt as part of our Christmas Eve movie viewing tradition.

*Now that animation is growing ever closer to looking like film and the Uncanny Valley issue grows ever smaller, it was great to see this film play with crisp, realistic images and then also use a bunch of other things (that probably have names that I don’t know) to ground us fully in an animated world.
**Shameik Moore (so good in 2015’s Dope) was great as Miles Morales and Jake Johnson (as Peter B. Parker) was perhaps my favorite Peter Parker ever. *** I’ll leave you to discover the other voices.
***Though I have a bit of a Jake Johnson thing. Win it All, Drinking Buddies, Safety Not Guaranteed

3SMReviews: Mary Poppins Returns

Director Rob Marshall provides a worthy sequel in Mary Poppins Returns, gathering both actors worthy of the weight that is continuing a beloved story and also by sprinkling in cameos that do not feel forced. The songs were good, if not spectacular, though the full-cast dance sequences were spectacular and carried the music.* Overall this was a good way to spend an afternoon.**

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: $9.00
Where watched: Living Room Theaters with my friend MM and an audience that included children (who got somewhat squirrely near the end.)

*I think Rob Marshall excels in capturing this aspect of the movie musical. With a stage production, the audience gets to choose where to set their eyes on the 20+ performers onstage. Marshall is very good at still letting us do this while not feeling like the camera is static. I still can visualize some of the ensemble scenes in Chicago. Contrast that with Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! with so many quick cuts that it’s hard to focus on anything.
**I didn’t love it like I love the original, but the original is the original and from my childhood. Recreating that sense of wonder in my 40s is a pretty impossible task.

3SMReviews: The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos gives us the Christmas gift of three amazing actors in The Favourite and I enjoyed every moment of the characters’ slow-motion train wrecks. Aside from great acting and an intense story, there are amazing costumes* and a scene so good that it caused people in my screening to break into applause. Despite its drawing room appearance, this movie changes things up (like a traditional formal dance at a ball that morphs into all sorts of current dance moves) and is contemporary in every way.

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: $9.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theatre with friend Kelly.

*The women look good in their gowns, but Nicholas Hoult really dazzles in his fancy dress and powdered face and wig.

3SMReviews: First Man

Damien Chazelle teams up with Ryan Gosling in First Man, a very feelings-based telling of Neil Armstrong’s story. Both Gosling and Claire Foy (as Janet Armstrong) are very good as the stoic couple who never thought they would be public figures. This movie has the White Guys in Suits* problem, and I would have rather watched it with subtitles as the dialogue gets lost in places amid the very industrial sound design, but I loved this movie’s focus on a man with a lot of feelings who never lets any of them out.

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: $4.00
Where watched: at the Academy Theater with S. North and an audience that wandered in and out of the theater during the movie, plus a guy behind us who commented loudly and often.**

*It was very hard to get names of the supporting cast and match them with faces. Being the 60’s, there were a lot of similar looking men in shirtsleeves with ties. This movie also had the same problem as in Lincoln: there were so many “Who is that guy?” moments. Patrick Fugit I recognized from the get-go, but there was also the guy from Girls, the guy from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the guy from Mudbound, the guy from Inception, the guy from the first Ant-Man movie, etc. etc. etc.
** “Space junk!” was perhaps my favorite of his eruptions.***
***He didn’t bug me tremendously, as it reminded me of when S. North and I saw the preview for this film and it so annoyed an audience member he loudly proclaimed, “WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO MAKE IT TENSE? We already KNOW what happens!” Both of us laughed.

3SMReviews: Roma

Alfonso Cuarón lets his camera linger in Roma, which is nice because then we can draw our own conclusions. In this black and white film, we experience Cleo’s life as a servant in an upper-class house in Mexico City. Much like Y Tu Mamá También, I loved watching the relationships develop and change, plus there are some pretty intense scenes.*

*One extended male full frontal scene was intense and funny. Some other scenes were intense and heartbreaking.

Verdict: Recommended

Where watched: at home
Cost: Netflix monthly subscription ($7.99)

3SMReviews: Dumplin’

Anne Fletcher’s does a great service in her movie Dumplin‘; she populates it with actors of all sizes.* But aside from that, she weaves a good story with enjoyable performances by Danielle MacDonald and the other friends of Willowdean.** While this movie is probably not one for the ages, it is the best at what it’s trying to do, which made for a delightful experience right now.

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly subscription ($7.99)
Where watched: at home

*Have you been to the mall lately? Or any gathering of normal people? We don’t look like any gathering of people in movies. I’d love to see the movie world look more like the real world.
**I was happy to see Odeya Rush, so very good in Lady Bird as the mostly vapid pretty rich girl. Harold Perrineau was also very good as Willowdean’s friend Lee. (And IMDB reminds me that he was a very good Mercutio 22 years ago in Romeo + Juliet!)

3SMReviews: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon knows how cancer movies can go and he pushes Me and Earl and the Dying Girl in a different direction. I love how the screenplay retains the book’s focus on Greg’s self-loathing* something I was sure would be toned down. I also appreciate a cancer film where the patient isn’t chipper about her fate and a movie that manages to combine hilarity and tears in a completely organic fashion.

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home

*Possibly due to the fact that Jessie Andrews wrote both the book and the screenplay.

Buying Guide: Someone I love likes movies where nothing happens.

It’s December and maybe you can’t figure out what to get that someone in your life who likes movies where nothing happens. Or maybe you like movies where nothing happens. (I do!) These moves all have a plot. But they are the kind of movies that might inspire a Redbox review of this ilk: Oh my god, so BORING. Nothing happens!!!!!

Here’s a list to rescue you.

Really great recent movies where not much happens, but you still feel so much when it’s over.

Buying Guide: Someone I love likes movies where nothing happens.

Blue Jay. (Review here) It’s an all-night conversation between two people who haven’t seen each other in 20 years. Buy this.

First Reformed. (Review here). I didn’t love this movie, but I’m in the minority. A despondent clergyman decides to write in a journal for one year. Buy this.

The Rider. (Review here.) Injured bull rider struggles to stay off horses while his head heals. One of the most stunning movies of 2018. Buy this.

Paterson. (Review here.) Poet bus driver. And one of the best overheard conversations in a movie. Buy this.

Phantom Thread. (Review here.) Asshole clothing designer and the woman who loves him. Buy this.

Clouds of Sils Maria. (Review here.) There are too many guys on this list, so we’re going back in time a few years. Famous actress, her assistant and the younger actress who is playing the role that made her famous. Buy this.

The Florida Project. (Review here.) Moonie and her mom and the best cigarette lighting scene in years. Buy this.

Call Me by Your Name (Review here.) Okay, this is probably the plottiest on this list, but it’s a meander-y plot. But perfect for a cold winter’s day, when a summer in the Italian countryside is just what the doctor ordered. Buy this.

A Ghost Story. (Review here.) A guy in a sheet. But it totally works. Buy this.

3SMReviews: Top Movies November 2018

Can You Ever Forgive Me? Unlikable, but so likable. Review. Buy.

Bohemian Rhapsody: A bit draggy, but still worth it. Review. Buy.

Widows. Great performances. Tense. Scary. Review. Buy.

Beau Travail: Not much happens. But mesmerizing. Review. Buy.

Coco: If you haven’t seen it, maybe fix that situation. Review. Buy.

The Good Place Season 2. Learning and growing. But not cheesy. Review. Buy.

3SMReviews: Can You Ever Forgive Me

Marielle Heller achieves the ultimate in Can You Ever Forgive Me. She gives us a movie about an unlikable character* and provides us with enough details so we can feel sympathy and like that character. Part of the credit goes to the marvelous Melissa McCarthy, who excels in a person who can’t let anyone in, and feels love only for her cat.**

Verdict: Recommended
Consider also watching: Heller’s excellent The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Cost: $5.55 (though free due to gift cards)
Where watched: Regal City Center Stadium 12.

*A post-40, lesbian, fat woman to be precise.
**I also love that this movie was not about a total transformation of this very flawed character.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2018/can_you_ever_forgive_me.html

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