Andy’s World The first thing — and the most important thing — a film does is establish where it will sit between your mind and the worlds you know. Often there is some clever interplay between what it is directly, and what games it will play with you about that identity and yours. I’ve called… Continue reading Lightyear (2022)
Tag: 2020s
Films released in the 2020s
Top Gun Maverick (2022)
Practical Performance Gosh, there is so much not to like here, on top of the fact that this reinforces a positive trend in film; the effects are largely practical, pitting Cruise against Cameron for the future of film. We could probably stand the competition for our imagination. I heartily endorse it, and I think it… Continue reading Top Gun Maverick (2022)
Wrath of Man (2021)
Armoured A bit disappointed in Richie. This is a solid production. Nothing wrong. Timing and pacing are near perfect, as these things require. The drone in soundtrack is apt. The nested flashbacks are exactly where they need to be to get us hooked in that important early phase. But Richie’s work is normally risky with… Continue reading Wrath of Man (2021)
Cruella (2021)
Princess Leyline One way to look at this is why it was made. Clearly, Disney marketing has found a princess niche not served by the direct approach. You have to admire the art of discovering and mining a market. Perhaps no one can do what these folks do in discovering and exploiting tween girl urge.… Continue reading Cruella (2021)
The Willoughbys (2020)
Evil Hair What used to be a side episode in larger stories has now grown to centre stage. In Cinderella, Snow White and such, we have a cruel stepmother. In recent films, we have dozens that mirror that and add inept father. But those use the bad situation of the child as background; the story… Continue reading The Willoughbys (2020)
The Woman in the Window (2021)
Painful You wonder why filmmakers make the choices they do. Here is a filmmaker who specialises in acute realism, expansive vision and narrative clarity. He’s chosen a project designed to expand his palette, one that depends on claustrophobic madness and resulting visions. These visions are what we need for the untrusted narration. I don’t know… Continue reading The Woman in the Window (2021)
Army of the Dead (2021)
Legionnaire’s Disease I was completely taken by “Sucker Punch”: layered, visually imaginative. Narrative ambiguity and engineered parallel causality. “300” on the other hand seemed an unadorned testosterone arc. In both cases, the visual composition was notable, in terms of mastery of rhythm. This is more on the simple side, albeit festooned with all the shooting… Continue reading Army of the Dead (2021)
Death on the Nile (2022)
Red Fingernails Christie is more special to me than she should be because she represents a tradition I miss. When you read one of her novels, you enter into tryst with an invisible woman who teases you with a false world that you welcome. Is there a more pure distillation of romance? As you both… Continue reading Death on the Nile (2022)
The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Meme Film School I am a filmsfolding guy. That is where films understand they are films and engage the viewer on multiple levels. Devoted some of my life to thinking about them and appreciating the meta-art. I should like this. It is essentially a story about a young filmmaker who goes on a road trip… Continue reading The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
Mechanical I am interested in the projects that successful artists design for themselves. It often shows that they are less interesting than they appear. Actors in particular depend on surrounding artists that remain invisible. Cage’s work is all over the place, but this is pretty bad. I believe it was made because he wanted it… Continue reading Willy’s Wonderland (2021)