Tag: 20s

Mank: Amanda Seyfried Shines

Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman in the film Mank

Mank

Directed by David Fincher
Written by Jack Fincher

The review:

The film that made me wonder if Fincher is feeling old and worn out.* While I can see what he’s doing there with the looping plot and the black and white and the deeper meaning, Herman J. Mankiewicz was not someone I was super interested in,** Gary Oldman’s fine performance notwithstanding.*** However, this is probably worth watching just for Amanda Seyfried, who was excellent as Marion Davies, and it was a solid depiction of Old Hollywood.****

The verdict: Good (ish)

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*His father wrote the original script, so perhaps it was the elder Mr. Fincher who was feeling very beat down.
**You can catalog this under: Tales of a Privileged White Man Who Wastes His Talents and is Generally Horrible to All, Volume 3,458,721.
***Although I really wish they would equalize their age-wise ridiculous casting. Gary Oldman was born in 1958 and is playing a 43-year-old man. Tuppence Middleton was born in 1987 and is playing his similarly aged wife.
****You know, when it was just some fun hijinks to have the stenographer sit around with pasties on.

Questions:

  • How many more films of this ilk will be made before we move on to a more interesting angle? (Like say, the story of that stenographer with the pasties.)
  • What’s your favorite movie about making a movie?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The presenter announcing the Academy Award for best original screenplay to Mankiewicz and Welles at the end of the movie is played by Ben Mankiewicz, a grandson of Herman J. Mankiewicz. Ben Mankiewicz is a presenter for Turner Classic Movies, which frequently airs films by Herman Mankiewicz and his brother Joseph. Ben’s father, Frank, is portrayed briefly in Mank by the uncredited child actor Matteo Menzies.

Other reviews of Mank:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: Irving, you are a literate man. You know the difference between communism and socialism. In socialism, everyone shares the wealth. In communism, everyone shares the poverty. Read the three sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

The Last Thing He Wanted: Not Great

Anne Hathaway and Rosie Perez in The Last Thing He Wanted

The Last Thing He Wanted

Directed by Dee Rees
Written by Marco Villalobos, Dee Rees

The review:

This was the kind of subpar movie where even analyzing what went wrong didn’t make it more fun. I think ultimately, not enough was revealed to the viewer to hook them in* and what results is 110 minutes of not-quite getting it and 5 minutes at the end where things are revealed. I also found the terse speech patterns of Anne Hathaway’s character to detract from, rather than add to, the film.

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Netflix monthly fee $8.99
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Or perhaps I didn’t catch the things I was supposed to catch.

Questions:

  • Would you be interested in other films that portray women journalists?
  • Where do you think this film got off track?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Ben Affleck replaced Nicolas Cage.

Other reviews of The Last Thing He Wanted:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: In a perfect world we make perfect choices. In the real world we make real choices. —The Last Thing He Wanted. Read the three sentence movie review: 3SMReviews.com

Shithouse: An Imperfect Window into Freshman Year

Cooper Raiff and Dylan Gelula in the film Shithouse

Shithouse

Directed by Cooper Raiff
Written by Cooper Raiff

The review:

Movies that capture transition periods are my favorite, especially of those that capture transitions around college,* so I greatly enjoyed watching Alex Malmquist (Cooper Raiff) struggle during his freshman year. This film is great at capturing the discomfort of not connecting,** and echoes a bit of Before Sunrise, though it also lingers a little too long in the middle. I’m also not thrilled with the ending, but enjoyed the performances*** enough to make it worth watching, though I do think the title could have been better chosen.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: $6.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Either into college or out of college. I think those times, which generally feature the loss of established support networks, leave a lot of room for drama.
**The conversations Raiff had with his stuffed animal were both amusing and painful to watch.
***Dylan Gelula is great as the RA that Cooper spends the night with. Logan Miller (whom I last saw in Love, Simon) continues his mostly odious streak as Sam, Alex’s roommate.
****The name comes from a house where a party is held. The house is named Shithouse. The scenes spent at the house were few, and I didn’t feel like the title extrapolated to the rest of the movie in a way that made it worth its use of a swear.

Questions:

  • College freshmen with full beards, do they exist? Did Cooper Raiff’s facial hair make him seem much older than a freshman?
  • Did anything about this movie seem similar to a college experience you had?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Nothing IMDB, I found a rambling interview that gave me this factoid:

Jay Duplass served as Cooper Raiff’s mentor after Raiff tweeted a screener at Duplass with the caption, “Bet you won’t click on this link!”

Other reviews of Shithouse:

Rebecca 2020: A Reminder to Catch Up With The 1940 Best Picture

Armie Hammer and Lily James in Rebecca (2020)

Rebecca (2020)

Directed by Ben Wheatley
Written by Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapenel, Anna Waterhouse

The review:

While this new version of Rebecca brings us the story of the second Mrs. de Winter in Technicolor and with a bigger budget* than its predecessor, it manages to drag, even though its runtime is eight minutes shorter.** I appreciate Kristin Scott Thomas’s take on housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, but it wasn’t as effective as Judith Anderson whose performance made the 1940’s version so enjoyable. Overall, the kind of newer version that is fine, especially if you haven’t seen the previous version, and perhaps it will encourage people to seek out Hitchcock’s classic.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*So much lingering on vast vistas! Perhaps that’s what made it seem long.
**On the plus side, though Maxim’s proposal retains its put down, Lily James has a bit more agency as the second Mrs. de Winter, especially near the end of the film.
***Which, if your library doesn’t have it, is a little hard to find. This needs to pop up on streaming tout suite!

Questions:

  • What’s your Rebecca pleasure? 1940 or 2020?
  • Would you like to live in the suite of rooms that were Rebecca’s?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The car is a 1937 Bentley.

I got some great Cruella de Ville vibes from the driving scenes.

Other reviews of Rebecca (2020):

Orange background with a white frame. Text: Show me an eligible bachelor and I'll show you a room full of women acting like they've lost their minds. —Rebecca (2020) Read the three-sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

The Trial of the Chicago 7 Feels Like Now

Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch and Sacha Baron Cohen backed by a wall of protesters in the Trial of the Chicago 7

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Directed by Aaron Sorkin
Written by Aaron Sorkin

The review:

It’s baby boomer nostalgia written and directed by our favorite walking and talking baby boomer: Aaron Sorkin.* But this is baby boomer nostalgia that all generations should catch up with because holy cow, the parallels with today. This film has a tight script,** great performances,*** and manages to balance ten-plus main characters in ways that let them have their moments.****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*You know, walking and talking like in The West Wing. I had hoped that Sorkin was born after 1965 so I could have said: …baby boomer nostalgia written by everyone’s favorite Gen Xer that includes political parallels that will seem familiar to the millennials and Gen Z-ers. But alas. Sorkin was born in 1961 and he’s too old to be a Gen Xer, so no dice with that sentence.
**The intro of the many players is handled in a robust and amusing fashion.
***Tom Hayden and Abbie Hoffman are the main players, and to my great surprise Hoffman was played by Sacha Baron Cohen. I had no idea!
****I liked seeing the different approach to protesting that the various groups brought. It’s common to hear about “the protesters” during the 60s, but they didn’t act as one body.

Questions:

  • What part of this film reminded you of today?
  • Which of the seven (eight) did you identify with most?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Sacha Baron Cohen admitted he was terrified of having to do an American accent for the film. He had used a few different variations of the accent before for comedic reasons, but never for a dramatic role. He knew Abbie Hoffman had a unique voice, having a Massachusetts accent but also having gone to school in California, and was worried he would “sound wrong.” Aaron Sorkin had to reassure him that the role was “not an impersonation, but an interpretation,” which Baron Cohen claimed did not help much.

Other reviews of The Trial of the Chicago 7:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: I think the institutions of our democracy are wonderful things that right now are populated by some terrible people. —The Trial of the Chicago 7. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

The Devil All the Time Brings the Ick

Picture of Tom Holland in the film The Devil All the Time

The Devil All the Time

Directed by Antonio Campos
Written by Antonio Campos & Paulo Campos

The review:

While politicians during election season like to talk about the United States of America as a Shining City on a Hill, directors like Antonio Campos do their duty to remind audiences that the USA was born in violence and wacko religion and that reality has passed through every generation.* This was a chance for a lot of actors to work on their accents** and bring their best Midwestern Gothic, which I found they succeeded at across the board. This was one of those violent films*** where I was entranced by a lot, and also intrigued because I wasn’t sure how the stories were going to come together.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly charge ($8.99)
Where watched: at home. I watched this because my “recent activity” page on Letterboxed was full of this poster. Having not heard of the film, I googled. Seeing the cast, I made plans to watch it that very night.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*There’s an overarching icky feeling from the first frame of this film to the last. I enjoyed the contrast with the setting of the 1940s through the 1960s, which, when rendered in film, tends to lend itself to a peaceful nostalgia.
**There are a lot of not-from-the-US actors in this: Tom Holland (British), Robert Pattinson (British), Harry Melling***** (British), Mia Wasikowska (Australian), Bill Skarsgård (Swedish), Eliza Scanlen (Australian), Jason Clarke (Australian). In fact, of the top cast, only Riley Keough and Haley Bennett were born in the US. Sebastian Stan came to the US at age twelve by way of Austria and Romania. Donald Ray Pollock, who wrote the novel the movie is a based on and serves as the narrator, is from Ohio.
***“How is your violent film?” asked the boyfriend. “How do you know it’s violent?” I asked instead of answering. “I could hear it,” he told me. Aside from a host of people being killed, a dog is also among the murdered.
****They did come together in the end.
*****Mr. Melling seems to becoming a reliable Netflix film dude. I’ve seen him in this, The Old Guard, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. He’s sung in two of those roles.

Questions:

  • Who was the most magnetic character?
  • Movies that feel icky. Yay or nay?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Real spiders were used.

(I wondered)

Other reviews of The Devil All the Time:

The King of Staten Island is Okay?

A picture of Alexis Rae Forlenza, Pete Davidson, and Luke David Blumm in The King of Staten Island

The King of Staten Island

Directed by Judd Apatow
Written by Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson, Dave Sirus

The review:

It was hard for me to separate Pete Davidson the person, from Scott Carlin, the character* and this made for depressed feelings while watching this film, despite its funny moments. It was also a film where the character development seemed to have more to do with Scott finding out about his dead father rather than developing or changing on his own. But I did get to see Bel Powley** and Marisa Tomei,*** so that was a nice treat.****

The verdict: Good?

It’s right on the edge. It’s not quite bad enough to be a Skip, but not quite good enough to be Good

Cost: $1.42 via Redbox (take that, VOD price of $19.99 back in June!)
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*It doesn’t help that like the main character, Pete Davidson’s firefighter father was killed when he was seven years old and I know that Davidson has mental health problems. It also might have to do with the humor stemming from Scott Carlin’s sub-par tattoos he gives to his friends and family. Those things don’t rub off, and they made me sad. I think I was supposed to find them funny.
**Would you like to watch Bel Powley in other films that are more fun than this? Cool. Check her out as Princess Margaret in A Royal Night Out, a minimally supervised teenager in The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and a floundering post-college existence in Carrie Pilby
***Remember when I wished she was the focus of this film? I feel the same way about the King of Staten Island.
***Also, hooray for Moises Arias! He was great in the Kings of Summer. And also in Five Feet Apart. Plus, his presence in this film led to a funny height gag.

Questions:

  • Would you eat at a tattoo restaurant?
  • What was your favorite moment in this film?
  • Which was the worst Scott Carlin tattoo? My vote is for the Moises Arias one that incorporated his navel.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The film was scheduled to open in about one-hundred theaters, mostly drive-ins. Due to the 2020 pandemic, two days before the release date the theaters were abruptly informed they would not able to show the film. Instead, the release was limited to video-on-demand.

Other reviews of The King of Staten Island:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: We're like the only place that New Jersey looks down on.—The King of Staten Island. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

The Uncomfortable Film I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Picture of Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley in the film I'm Thinking of Ending Things

I’m Thinking of Ending Tings

Directed by Charlie Kaufman
Written by Charlie Kaufman (based on Iain Reid’s book)

The review:

It’s a Charlie Kaufman film, so settle in and wait for the weird.* In this case, two Jesses** take us on a very long, very uncomfortable meet-the-parents journey.*** I have a debate going about whose story this really is,**** and while I don’t think this is Kaufman’s best, it provided a lot of Kaufman things, plus two productions numbers from a famous musical.*****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Charlie Kaufman films = long, weird, uncomfortable, nonsensical, mesmerizing. If you’re tired of the same old same old, a Kaufman film is always a great palate cleanser.
**Jessie Buckley, so good in Wild Rose, and Jesse Plemons who imprinted on me in Friday Night Lights. Both seem to be carving out roles that let them show off their range.
***It’s possible, that with the quarantine, you’ve been missing uncomfortable family dynamics. This provides a perfect remedy!
****If it’s Jessie Buckley’s story, Kaufman made a film for the #metoo era.
*****I’ve got a short list of movies with musical production numbers. This and Bernie. What can you think of?

Questions:

  • What do you think is Kaufman’s best?
  • Who’s story is it?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The first car scene lasts roughly seventeen minutes and fifteen seconds (not including the brief interludes of seeing the Janitor). The second car scene lasts twenty-two minutes and thirty-seven seconds (not including the Tulsey Town detour)

Other reviews of I’m Thinking of Ending Things:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: It's tragic how few people possess their souls before they die. —I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

First Cow Shows off Reichardt’s Skills

A picture of Orion Lee and Toby Jones in the film First Cow

The review:

There’s a sense of peace that comes over me when I watch any Kelly Reichardt film.* Watching Cookie and King-Lu form a friendship and a business in the time of early 19th-century Oregon was a quiet meditation on friendship and dreams of the future. As always, the dialog is sparse, the actors telegraph much,** and the landscape is almost another character.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $3.99 via Redbox On Demand
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It’s the equivalent to those people who find it calming to hear people whisper.
**Watching the actors in a Reichardt film is always a treat, and this pair (John Magaro and Orion Lee) reminded me a lot of Daniel London and Will Oldham in Old Joy. So much unsaid but still said!

Questions:

  • Did you feel the opening of the film unduly influenced your viewing of the film?
  • Why do you think Cookie and King-Lu connected?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

First Cow (2019) is the first Kelly Reichardt film to receive a PG-13 rating.

(I can’t think why. Language?
Common Sense Media says language, drinking, and smoking.)

Other reviews of First Cow:

Orange background with text: Some people can’t imagine being stolen from. —First Cow. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

I Used to Go Here: Winning Failure

A picture of Gillian Jacobs and Rammell Chan in the film I Used to Go Here

I Used to Go Here

Directed by Kris Rey
Written by Kris Rey

The review:

Much as I was charmed by a unique aspect of Kris Rey’s Unexpected, so was I by the flailings* of Gillian Jacobs’ character Kate in I Used to Go Here. It’s the relationships that make this film fun, and the humor is sly and subtle.** There’s a wistfulness to this film that I loved,*** as well as the exuberance of youth viewed by someone past that stage.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $6.99 via Redbox On Demand
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I love a good woman-flailing movie, especially if the flailing doesn’t have to do with romantic relationships.
**Kate’s book reading is a great example of this.
***There are so many good things to remember about being in college, and so many reasons to be glad you are through those years.

Questions:

  • What do you think Kate will do next?
  • Who was your favorite college student?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Kate’s address is given as 4569 N. Baltimore Rd, Chicago, IL 60640 (on the letter to her ex boyfriend), however the building she enters is actually 4623 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60625, and is above Spyners Pub. The interiors may have been shot elsewhere.

Oh, internet, you are so detail oriented!

Other reviews of I Used to Go Here:

Orange background. Text: Personal essay is dead. —I Used to Go Here. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com