Lean who talks about Trish for an extended period, who the main character of Red Rocket reminded me of, and in which movie showing I saw four people leave halfway through.
Note: Josh Greenbaum directed, didn’t write. Mikey isn’t probably really middle aged, but he is old for his industry.
Listen to hear me refer to the June summary as the May summary two-thirds of the time, find out why I think In the Heights was such a success, and learn why I have the same movie in both the Skip and the Good category.
Things mentioned in this post:
Created by women: In the Heights was written by Quiara Alegría Hudes, Life Partners was directed by Susanna Fogel and written by Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz, and Away We Go was written by Vendela Vida and Dave Eggers.
In this bit of audio, I run through the movies I watched in May 2021. Listen to find out what I think of ditzy women leads, how I knew that a movie wouldn’t have a bummer of an ending, and to get recommendations for several (!!!!) grownup comedies.
Things mentioned in this post:
The bummer of recording audio is that when I discover I’ve missed an entire move after I’m done recording and editing, I don’t go back and fix that.
In that vein, know that I also watched Mystery Date in May. It would have landed in the Skip category.
Created by women: Together Together (written and directed); Monster (2018) (co-written); The Forty-Year-Old Version (written & directed); Once Upon a Mattress (directed).
?Directed by Nikole Beckwith?
?Written by Nikole Beckwith?
Patti Harrison* and Ed Helms** anchor this low-key, sweet comedy about a middle-aged man starting a family and the surrogate he hires. What starts as a strictly-by-the-books relationship evolves into a friendship that reveals the hard and sticky parts of both characters lives. Recently, I remarked on the lack of grownup comedies;*** this is one and well worth your time.
Cost: $15.90
Where watched: The Living Room Theater! I’m fully vaccinated! First movie outing since March 7, 2020!
*Who shall now be forever known by me as the Queen of the Straight-Faced Zingers.
**He’s really done some great stuff recently.
***I enjoy a lot of different comedies, but the ones where people are grounded in something like the real word and grounded in everyday humor are a rare treat.
The film was shot in 17 days.
(also the only one)
Other reviews of Together Together:
?Directed by Kornél Mundruczó?
?Written by Kata Wéber?
“Young mother’s home birth ends in tragedy” is a phrase that will probably have most of the potential audience saying, “Nope!” but for those of you who like sad dramas that depend more on acting than dialog, this film is for you!* The film does a great job establishing a loving relationship between the two leads so we can then watch things crumble. Vanessa Kirby is new to me** and her Best Actress Oscar Nomination is well deserved.***
Cost: Netflix monthly fee $8.99
Where watched: at home
*That’s me! If it’s you, don’t miss this!
*I apparently saw her in Hobbs & Shaw?
***Though I honestly felt the filmmakers were trying to position Ellyn Burstyn for a best supporting nomination.****
****She was good in this, but there was a weird age gap. She’s 88 (Which: !) and Vanessa Kirby is 31, which means if they are playing their ages, Burstyn would have been 57 when she gave birth to Kirby. I think an actor in her 60s would have been a better fit age-wise.
The title doesn’t appear until 30 minutes into the movie.
(This was a thing I noticed.)
?Directed by Emerald Fennell?
?Written by Emerald Fennell?
If I tell you this movie is a revenge thriller you’ll probably get a very specific picture in your mind.* But it’s not that movie at all, it’s a candy colored confection that is funny, sweet, and can spark some incredible conversations about consent and the things we tell each other.** Carey Mulligan is a chameleon, putting off and taking off personalities, and she’s backed by a talented cast.***
Cost: $1.30 from Redbox (I waited so very patiently for the $19.99 price to drop, and then had a Redbox Coupon that saved me 50¢)
Where watched: at home
*Dark, moody, angry, and either containing a ton of spattered blood throughout or at least a massive bloodbath at the end.
**Ideally things are starting to change, but this is the kind of change we need now, not eventually. Also, it will make you like a Paris Hilton song.
***Me during the opening credits: Beau Burnham is in this?!! Alison Brie! Laverne Cox! Connie Britton!
****The movie ended, the bonus features started, the bonus features ended, and I started the movie again. Then watched it for a third time the next night with Matt.
The title is a reference to Brock Turner, a Stanford University student who was convicted of sexual assault in 2016. Despite his conviction, he was referred to by some as a “promising young man.”
?Directed by Otto Preminger?
?Written by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Elizabeth Renhardt?
Dana Andrews* is our hard-boiled detective investigating the murder of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney,**) a charismatic and beloved career woman shot in her apartment. Like all good noirs, somthin’ ain’t right and we can place our bets as we learn more about Laura through flashbacks narrated by Clifton Webb,*** Vincent Price,**** and others. This movie has great dialog and a great twist I didn’t see coming that made this a very satisfying story.
Cost: $3.99 via Google Play (I could have gotten it from the library, if I had planned ahead.)
Where watched: at home
*I found him to be flat in this, though I’ve liked him in State Fair and his performance in The Best Years of Our Lives (that movie is slow, though and I don’t recommend it.)
**Incredibly likable!
***The single-and-fussy (and you can use your 1940s translator to understand what that really means) columnist who adores Laura.
****He was once young!
Despite the Oscar snub of the score, David Raksin’s music proved to be so popular that the studio soon found itself inundated with letters asking if there was a recording available of the main theme. Soon, sheet music and recordings of the instrumental music were released and proved to be a huge hit with the public.
?Directed by Michael Fimoganari?
?Written by Katie Lovejoy?
I mean, it’s exactly as good as the previous two films and Lana Condor and Noah Centineo are made for each other, at least in this film. All the things you’ve enjoyed before are back, and they manage to have a few will-they-or-won’t-they moments, even after two other movies with such moments. This was a solid ending to the trilogy.*
Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home
*I’m assuming its a trilogy. There are only three books.
The author of the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy Jenny Han made a small cameo as Principal Cho in a flashback of the day Peter first saw Lara Jean.
?Directed by Chloé Zhao?
?Written by Chloé Zhao?
There are few well-known actors I can think of who could play Fern so convincingly,* and I’m thankful Nomadland’s Fern was Frances McDormand. If you haven’t seen any of Zhao’s films before, you might not think that an ambling narrative about people who live in their vans would be interesting, but you would be wrong.** If you’re looking for a moving story of a woman determined to be on her own, take yourself to wherever this film is playing.***
Cost: I paid Matt $6.00, he’s paying the monthly Disney+/Hulu subscription fee
Where watched: at home
*Being a woman and an actor in the USA generally means avoiding aging. McDormand has aged along with the rest of us, which makes her very relateable.
**If you’ve seen Zhao’s other films (The Rider or Songs My Brothers Taught Me) you would know she’s a pro at mesmerizing viewers using landscape and the real people’s lives she’s woven a narrative from.
***I remain intensely curious about what Zhao’s Marvel movie will be like.
Frances McDormand nicknamed the van used in the film “Vanguard,” which she decorated with her own personal items and slept in during the shoot. Eventually she stopped doing so because “it’s much better for me to pretend to be exhausted than to actually be exhausted,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Directed by Eliza Hittman
Written by Eliza Hittman
Eliza Hittman takes us on a journey worthy of an epic poem* so a young woman can get a procedure that should be available to her in her own small town. On the way, we see how rules to “protect”** women actually end up putting them in more danger, the things women sacrifice for other women, and a quiet, perfect performance by Sidney Flanigan. By the time you get to the scene where the phrase “never, rarely, sometimes, always” is used, you will never forget the order of the words in this very wordy title.
Cost: HBOMax monthly fee of ($12.99) (Still living off the WW84 purchase)
Where watched: at home
*It’s interesting to see how little of Flanigan’s life we learn about before the journey begins in earnest and how the sparse details we do find paint a vivid picture.
**But we know why those rules are passed and it has nothing to do with protection and everything to do with control.
Prior to this film, Sidney Flanigan worked as a janitor.
