To paraphrase Emperor Palpatine, "The attempt to binge movies...has left me scarred and deformed. But I assure you. My resolve has never been stronger!"
More Star Wars
I continued my tour of the Star Wars movies with my son. To my delight, whenever the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." hit the screen, he said "I love Star Wars".
Revenge of the Sith is easily the best of the prequel trilogy. I always wished Anakin became Vader in the second movie so that the third could be him hunting down the Jedi to near-extinction. The way Obi-wan described Vader doing that seemed like it was a process, not an event that happened simultaneously around the galaxy. And I think that could have been so tragic.
We watched Solo next, which we both loved. To me, it's the most fun of any Star Wars movie. It also features some of the best character writing.
Rogue One is a fan favorite, and I'm glad for anyone who loves it, but to me the story is muddled and the central characters are hollow. Some of the side characters are great and of course the big finale is a lot of fun to watch.
25 for '25
The Big Picture podcast is doing a series of episodes this year celebrating "The 25 Best Movies of the 21st Century". I decided I'd follow along and watch any movies they include that I haven't seen.
Michael Clayton is a fantastic thriller that I look forward to rewatching. Viewing it, I was reminded of the Bourne trilogy, and it turns out that it was written and directed by the writer of those movies, Tony Gilroy.
The Handmaiden is a South Korean period-thriller. I was blown away by the intricacy of this movie. It's doing a lot more than other films attempt, and mostly it succeeds. I go into movies with as little knowledge as possible, so it surprised me how horny this movie is. That happened a few times this month.
Modern
Anora won best picture and several other Oscars, so I decided to give it a try. I thought it was utterly captivating. A propulsive plot and great performances. It feels like they don't make 'em like this any more.
Mickey 17 is a movie I looked forward to, having been thrilled by director Bong Joon Ho's best-picure-winning Parasite. Another thing that attracted me to it was its genres; it's a sci-fi with sci-fi and societal ideas, which is right up my alley. To be honest, I felt that the first half of the movie was a 5-star Nick classic, and the second half went a bit sideways. I still really liked it.
70s
I'm continuing to catch up on 70s movies. I liked these both, but doubt I'll rewatch them. Still looking for the films of this decade that really click with me.
Being There is a strange movie about a strange man. It was really interesting watching Peter Sellers in one of his later roles, and Shirely MacLaine was delightful. I enjoyed the ideas in this one, and found its dry humor extremely amusing at times.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is very 70s, in its pacing and exploitation, but there's still something unique about it. I found Ben Gazzara impossible to look away from. This was my first John Cassavetes film. Based on it, I'm curious about his other work, but I don't think it will be 100% for me.
Horror
Black Sunday is a Mario Bava gothic horror. It's so well done. The sets, costumes, and effects are all great. It's just a lovely, cozy horror.
Cure is a Japanese horror film that seems to slightly predate J-horror, but which bears some of its hallmarks. I found it compelling and at times pretty spooky.
Misc
To Be or Not to Be is one of my favorite finds this month. Released in 1942, it had the audacity to lampoon the Nazis. I found the balance of humor, romance, and war remarkably well done. Will definitely want to rewatch this.
A Shot in the Dark is the first sequel to The Pink Panther. I've seen a few in the series, but not this one, so I put it on one night when I wanted something easy to watch. This was my second Peter Sellers film this month! And his physical comedy is something special to behold. I had some good laughs.
