Tag: Comedy

Marriage Story : a Tense Dissolution

The review:

Noah Baumbach gets at the nuance of divorce* with Marriage Story and his script leaves a lot of room for incredible performances by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.** It’s a painful divorce, but not an overly angry one, which means the movie is tense throughout, but there isn’t much yelling.*** It’s also a movie that is a tiny bit too long**** and has humor sprinkled throughout; it comes with a very clear message about the strange nature of divorce proceedings.*****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home with S. North, who didn’t like it as much as I did.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*There are a lot of examples of a couple in the midst of uncoupling acting very much like the couple they have always been, which is what I would guess makes divorce difficult.
**Azhy Robertson is also very good as Charlie and Nicole’s son Henry (he was also good as Ethan Hawke’s son in Juliet, Naked) and god bless Martha Kelly; her role as the social worker was the most painful and hilarious scene in the movie.
***I’m guessing a heart rate monitor would have had me at an elevated level for most of the movie.
****While one song from the Sondhiem musical Company was fine, the second wandered into indulgent territory
*****The lawyers’ interactions were fascinating, especially how they shifted from emphatically making a point to chitchat.

Questions:

  • Do you think the blame falls more on one person more than than the other in this film? If so, who?
  • What’s your favorite movie with a social worker in it?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The theme of theater is reflected in the film’s production design and the architecture. Charlie and Nicole have a proscenium arch in their apartment. In Nicole’s mother’s house, characters move in and out of rooms that interconnect to the kitchen like a backstage to the main stage. During Nicole’s monologue she walks in and out of rooms and similarly, Nicole and Charlie walk between rooms during the fight scene, these moments echo how actors move in plays.

Other reviews:

Knives Out Left Me With That Good-Movie Boost

The review:

Rian Johnson shows he has skills with yet another genre* by directing Knives Out, which is 130 minutes of delight. This movie could have been weighted down by its stellar cast,** but everything clicks and jibes along as the pieces fall into place. The mystery is well-crafted,*** the movie is funny, and the mansion shows off some great set decoration, including an amazing chair.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: St. Johns Twin Cinema with S. North

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Noir (Brick), sci-fi time travel (Looper), franchise action/adventure/sci-fi (The Last Jedi), things for the band the Mountain Goats
**There’s something enjoyable about watching actors who seem to be enjoying the acting they are doing. Ana de Armas is the linchpin who makes the movie work, and I especially loved Noah Segan as the fawning Trooper Wagner. Also, hasn’t Christopher Plummer had a good run lately?
***Though what do I know? My brain isn’t good at solving mysteries. I’m always surprised when it comes time to figure out who done what.

Questions:

  • What was the most egregious action performed by any member of the Harlan Thrombey’s family?
  • If you had to live with one of Harlan Thrombey’s family members, which would you choose?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Despite playing his mother in the film, K Callan is actually six years younger than Christopher Plummer.

Other reviews:

The Art of Self-Defense is Dark, Amusing

The review:

Riley Sterns directs Jesse Eisenberg* in The Art of Self-Defense a dark comedy that feels more intellectually funny than viscerally funny. While that first sentences feels like damning the film with faint praise, it was an enjoyable film experience and I especially enjoyed Alessandro Nivola’s** straight-faced Sensei whom I couldn’t quite get a bead on. This was one of those films that felt removed enough from the world I couldn’t fully settle in, but its artificial environment and subtle commentary and humor were well done.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $1.25 via Redbox
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Eisenberg was excellent as always; I don’t think I’ve ever not liked one of his performances.
**I also caught another excellent performance of his this year. He was Rabbi Dovid Kuperman in Sebastían Lelio’s Disobedience.

Questions:

  • What is your favorite dark comedy?
  • Has Jesse Eisenberg ever not been the tense and introverted character?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Writer and director Riley Stearns trains and teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Other reviews:

Zombieland: the Zombie Nerd Angle

The review:

Ruben Fleischer does us all a good service with Zombieland; he gives us the zombie invasion from the point of view of a nerd.* After adding in a tough guy and two grifters, we have an assembled cast of not-very-likable people, but together they make for an amusing and enjoyable film.** I didn’t love the amount of blood and guts due to the zombies, but other than that this was a fresh take on a well-trod*** subject.****

The verdict: Recommended

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

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Complete with awkward encounters and a very savvy list of rules for survival.
**Post movie discussion: Con artists. Terrible to encounter in real life, yet often come off as charming in films.
***Even in 2009
****It also has an unforgettable sequence with a famous actor that is not to be missed.

Questions:

  • Of the four main characters, which would you prefer to spend the zombie apocolypse with?
  • Con artists. Why so good in movies?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Contrary to popular belief, the supermarket scene was not filmed at an actual supermarket. A movie set was built from scratch to look like a real supermarket, and some of the merchandise is fake. For example, the stuff behind the glass refrigerator doors is just printed on paper. According to the producers, it was cheaper than buying out a supermarket and paying them for broken merchandise.

Other reviews:

Frozen II: A Worthy Successor

The review:

Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck’s Frozen II is a worthy successor to the the animation triumph that spawned a generation of children who know every vocal inflection of “Let It Go.”* This is an adventure story, a sister story, a story about coming to terms with things other people did in the past, and a story firmly focused on the female experience.** I don’t think there is a generation-defining song in this film, but there are plenty of good songs, both enjoyable and moving.***

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free due to passes (Thanks, Danielle)
Where watched: Roseway Theater (Our first time. It was a nice neighborhood theater.)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*2015: the year Bre’s 4/5 class sang that song often and at a volume that easily came through the walls to the school office.
**We’re not quite to the point where we can have a story focused on the female experience where the women wear flats instead of heels, but I have faith that time is coming.
***My favorite amusing song was Kristoff’s “Lost in the Woods” a homage to 80s music videos where the singer has many feelings.

Questions:

  • When do you think everyone will come to the sensible conclusion that high heeled shoes are dumb, and then stop wearing them?
  • I’ve just noticed that Martha Plimpton is in this movie. Have you seen her in anything else, of late?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

During Kristoff’s “Lost in the Woods” number, there is a moment where Kristoff sings and three reindeer behind him in a triangular arrangement in front of a black background. This resembles the music video for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody“.

Other reviews:

Let it Snow Is Pleasant, Unchallenging

The review:

Luke Snellin directs a gentle Christmas movie adaptation of a YA Novel* with some utterly delightful moments.** A cornucopia of young people*** plus Joan Cusack (in a coat and hat festooned with tinfoil) wander through the snow-covered landscape of generic middle America. The multiple stories are well balanced, everyone finds what they are looking for, and it made for a solid Sunday Afternoon Movie.

The verdict: Good

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

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*The book is also named Let it Snow and it consists of three short stories written by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. Many things have changed from the book to the movie.
**My favorites: Shameik Moore charming Isabela Merced’s grandfather with his love of the Rolling Stones, Kiernan Shipka and Mitchell Hope’s duet of “The Whole of the Moon”
***Isabela Merced (the teenager in Instant Family), Shameik Moore (Miles Morales aka Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, also the main character in Dope) Odeya Rush (the rich, vapid kinda-friend in Lady Bird and the best friend in Dumplin‘); Liv Hewson (Before I Fall); Kiernan Shipka (Sally Draper in Mad Men); Jacob Balaton (the “guy in the chair” in Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and one of the many actors who portrayed A in Every Day); Miles Robbins (the guy who was the drug connoisseur in Blockers)

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite movie set in winter/in the snow?
  • Which of the actors in this movie do you think you will still be watching in fifteen years?

Favorite IMDB trivia:

Port Authority of Allegheny County’s Light Rail Vehicle 4201 is the trolley used in the Beechview Scene.
(The IMDB trivia page is a bit light right now)

Other reviews:

Jojo Rabbit is the Funniest WWII Movie in Decades (And Also Sad)

The review:

Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit continues his streak of really great movies focused on children.* This movie is both funny and heavy** and does a great job of showcasing all the talents of its stars.*** Sure, you may have been living your life thinking there would never be a movie with Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend, but now that there is, you must see it.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Free for me (we used my birthday dinner money)
Where watched: at the Baghdad, where there was robust clapping as the film ended.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Or as Waititi puts it: boys with dad issues.
**There are so many dark World War II dramas; this was a breath of fresh air.
***Roman Griffin Davis carried the film, despite being eleven, Thomasin McKenzie got the nuances of a young woman in hiding, Rebel Wilson and Sam Rockwell did their thing as the comic relief, Waititi made an excellent imaginary friend/Adolf Hitler and Scarlett Johansson vacillated between a solid mother figure and one unhinged by war (though I think the choice to do the German accent was a mistake) (People who are annoyed by accent choices may have some problems with this film).

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite film with a child star?
  • What’s your favorite WWII film set in Germany?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Taika Waititi discovered in his research that WWII Germany was very vibrant and fashionable, and was interested in shying away from traditional war films showing it as dreary and dark, instead presenting the town as a seemingly celebratory place and dressing characters as stylishly as possible. He liked the idea that everything seems happy, but just underneath the surface “the third Reich is crumbling, and, you know, the dream is over.”
(This was true. Aside from great costumes, I also thought the house Jojo lived in was gorgeous.)

Chutney Popcorn Overcomes; Is a Good Movie

Sorry it’s not a better image. Surprisingly, 90s indie films about lesbians don’t have a ton of media presence on the internet.

The review:

Nisha Ganatra directs a film chock full of terrible acting,* and yet still manages to create a very enjoyable movie-watching experience. The plot has an interesting conundrum (offering to be a surrogate for your married, infertile sister) and the movie itself is a delightful time capsule of late-90s New York City lesbian culture. This is a great example of how serious flaws sometimes aren’t enough to bring down the movie.**

The verdict: Good

(with some caveats)

Cost: free via Hoopla, the library’s steaming service that isn’t Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Apparently, there’s a good reason that the main character’s acting isn’t great. See the trivia section. Jill Hennessy is in this and isn’t bad, but she isn’t great, either.
**Ganatra also directed one of my favorite films of this year: Late Night

Questions:

  • What’s a movie that isn’t great (for whatever reason) but you still love it.
  • Iconic lesbian films. Go!
  • Have you seen Late Night yet? Why or why not?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Director and co-writer Nisha Ganatra stepped into the lead role of Reena after the actress originally cast in the role quit the production shortly before filming began.

Cedar Rapids is a Gentle, Funny Movie

The review:

It’s a gentle comedy, Cedar Rapids is, and Miguel Arteta does his best to make an amusing and sweet movie.* Ed Helms perfectly embodies the somewhat emotionally stunted, completely tight-laced, Midwestern,** small-town insurance agent suddenly tapped to travel to Cedar Rapids for the big insurance conference. John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr.*** make great mentors, and the rest of the cast is stuffed with a laundry list of, “Hey, it was that guy**** who was in that thing.”

The verdict: Good

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It’s a Sunday Afternoon Movie—one that provides you with one last gasp of trouble-free weekend before the windup to the work week begins.
**In bearing, he very much reminded me of a co-worker.
***Who charmed me by describing himself as being married to his insurance business, but also that he takes part in community theater and enjoys the HBO program, The Wire.
****There are nearly no women in this movie.

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite gentle comedy that has more than one woman in it?
  • Which character had the best lines?
  • Of the “guys who were in that thing,” which is your favorite character actor?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Isiah Whitlock Jr.’s character Ronald Wilkes references the character Omar from the TV show The Wire. He played the character State Sen. R. Clayton ‘Clay’ Davis on the TV series. According to Whitlock, the Wire references were in the script before he was cast, and they decided to keep them in place as an in-joke for fans of both Whitlock and his former show.

Now and Then Would Have Been Better Off Sticking with Then

The review:

In 1995, Lesli Linka Glatter directed Now and Then, a coming of age movie with a lot of young actresses who then were girls but now are grown up and still fun to watch.* The plot is a little thin, and would have been better without the grown-up story, but it was a fine palate cleanser on a Friday night. Plus, it’s a good 1995 time capsule.**

The verdict: Good

(Again, we’re not talking fine wine. We’re talking house red. Or possibly Two Buck Chuck.)

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

Consider also watching/watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Gaby Hoffman is always a treat.
**And possibly a good 1970 time capsule, though that was before my time.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The movie (a.k.a. The Gaslight Addition) was actually written about a town in Indiana named Winchester, and its gaslight addition. The author of the story I. Marlene King grew up there, as did the director Robert Wise, in vastly different years. Winchester declined to have their name associated with the movie, so the name became Shelby, but later Winchester began to preserve areas mentioned in the movie.