October Movie Catch-up
Favorite First Watches, Horror October and Beyond
La Chimera dir. Alice Rohrwacher – still my favorite film of the year (along with On Becoming a Guinea Fowl and Caught by the Tides). I wrote about it earlier this month:
La Chimera
Margaret (2011) dir. Kenneth Lonergan – This is such a monumental film that I have always wanted to watch. I didn’t know what the film was about, but I did know about its troubled post production which is just insane (shot in 2005 and caught in post-production limbo for almost six years). Lisa, played by Anna Paquin, plays a high school student from an affluent family (set in post 9/11 New York); she witnesses the death of a woman hit by a bus and it is shown in an extended visceral scene that sets up the melodrama that follows. This leads her on a very strange path to a morality test that centers her and her self importance more than the incident itself. She quotes “…moral gymnasium” at her father without so much as a hint of self awareness; the original full quote encapsulates her entire character: “My dear Tavy, your pious English habit of regarding the world as a moral gymnasium built expressly to strengthen your character.”
The film boasts an incredible ensemble cast (Paquin, Jeannie Berlin, J. Smith-Cameron, Jean Reno, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Damon and Kenneth Lonergan himself). The film is so massive and it feels so of its time, but also topical in other respects; I am thinking of a specific scene where Berlin throws a glass of wine at Jean Reno for expressing his political views. The whole thing is a perfectly realized dramatization where all the characters are sharp and the situations are believable. Lisa is an obnoxious, self absorbed, but fascinating central character and there is s o much about the editing and the entire first section that I absolutely adore. I only watched the theatrical version, so I will dive into the extended version to dive more deeply into Lonergan’s terrific script. If you are a fan of Manchester by the Sea, it is a no brainer to check out Margaret.
The Boy and the Heron (2023) dir. Hayao Miyazaki – I am not ready to write at length about Miyazaki’s latest film. It is dense and the emotional weight of it will only hit you once the film is over. The animation alone does not disappoint and boggles one’s mind how certain scenes are even designed; the soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is immense and gorgeous. I plan to revisit this soon.
I Saw the TV Glow (2024) dir. Jane Schoenbrun – This is everything we’ve come to expect from Jane Schoenbrun. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair was such a unique little discovery back when I watched it at Indie Memphis Film Festival 2021; it has that rare quality of capturing a certain feeling of loneliness and depression in an online era. Schoenbrun’s follow-up is a much more ambitious film spanning decades and manages to capture a life not lived (as your true self) and feeling like time has just happened to you as opposed to being int it. Justice Smith is incredible in a complicated role of uncertainty; his last scene is so hard hitting. Bridgette Lundy-Paine is the perfect foil, the type of character I feel carried over from Schoenbrun’s previous film. It makes you nostalgic about peak TV era as kids (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Angel) with its own mysterious TV show that captures the minds of these kids, “Pink Opaque” which for me is closer to something like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and similar shows where teens are constantly in peril. That Alex G soundtrack is great and really adds to the mood of the film (check out his other soundtrack for We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, “End Song” in particular is a song I still come back to). It is one of the better films of the year. (Available on HBO MAX)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) dir. Park Chan-wook – This was nuts and though I have been a fan of Chan-wook for ages I had never watched this from his revenge trilogy. The plotting of it is not immediately apparent early on so you’re thrown in for a loop whenever a Coens brothers movie type mishap keeps amping the violence and changing the characters themselves. It is a bit too distant and cynical, but you can count on Chan-wook to end the film with a gag, albeit a brutal one. He is such a maestro and his craft is unmatched even this early into his career. The framing in this is impressive (shots of staircases in a construction site early on with the organ thieves, a shot of a tossed cigarette from underwater, and some great blocking). The whole film can be encapsulated by this J.K. Simmons scene in Burn After Reading:
Smile 2 (2024) dir. Parker Finn – As someone who is new to these movies, this Smile sequel is surprisingly solid and entertaining as far as sequels go. It improves upon everything and really chooses the most interesting character to experience the curse through. Naomi Scott plays a pop star who is cleaning up her image after a drugged out car accident that led to the death of her boyfriend. The opening scene is fantastic as we catch up with Kyle Gallner from the first Smile movie on his last day attempting to pass the curse on to some drug dealers. I was satisfied with how artfully everything was done this time around, although the multiple fake outs were getting absurd (and more prevalent than in the first one), but the film does find its footing by the end as it lands on the most ambitious ending for this concept. The concept itself is narratively limited and rehashed: think The Ring, Final Destination and most similarly It Follows. Finn does manage to make it all work even when it is nonsensical, and while I am not familiar with Naomi Scott, she did a great job in the lead role. It is a great year for horror performances in unexpectedly good franchise films (I am thinking of Nell Tiger Free in The First Omen.
Problemista (2024) dir. Julio Torres – This was delightful and breezy. It kind of felt like a fully realized TV show in some ways, but it was efficient and innovative in its construction (it reminded me of Michel Gondry films or music videos). I was not expecting to see RZA in this as an egg painter, and he works great with Tilda Swinton who plays an art critic and his partner; I am a big fan of Catalina Saavedra and it was great to see her in this. The cryogenic freezing bit is great and does wonders for the film narratively. The film also resonated with me in its depiction of Alejandro’s immigration struggles and the ever-elusive sponsorship that is symbolized as a golden key. I had a great time with this. (Available on HBO MAX)
The Connection (1961) dir. Shirley Clarke – This was incredibly inventive and theatrical, and really ahead of its time. It is about a group of heroin addicts cooped up in a tiny apartment waiting for their next fix as a camera crew tries to capture their “essence”. The incorporated, improvised jazz, the theatrical setting (it is kind of the drunk and chaotic cousin of 12 Angry Men) and those raw performances make this a must watch. (Available on Metrograph)
Other light recommendations:
Coreys (2024) – This one is for fans of The Mask and Conner O’Malley who is also in I Saw the TV Glow this year.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024) – I really liked Rose Glass’ follow-up to Saint Maud; Glass takes some big swings and while some of the plotting is lacking, it does keep the film going in interesting directions. It has a great cast, with Katy M. O’Brian being an absolute standout. Also that soundtrack is fantastic. Also Ed Harris gets super angry and eats a bug to contain himself, and it reminded of his History of Violence Cannes Film Festival Press Conference.
Speak No Evil (2024) – The Danish Speak No Evil from 2022 gets the American treatment and it reminded me of George Sluizer remaking his own The Vanishing in the US. The Danish film is a nasty piece of work, a pitch black comedy about manners that leads to one of the more upsetting things I’ve seen in a film in quite a while. The American version starts off similarly but of course for an American audience there is a packaged action thriller by the third act that in many ways reminded me of watching movies like The Breakdown with Kurt Russell as a kid. This one is worth watching just for James McAvoy’s big performance and Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis are also good as the polite parents.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors – It is one of the stronger films from this franchise with a more contained tory and a very chatty Freddy at the center terrorizing the last of the Elm Street kids in a psychiatric hospital. There are some incredible practical effects and the cast here works better together and there’s more individuality amongst “the dream warriors” led by Nancy who makes her return from the first film and really legitimizes this entry in the franchise. The Dick Cavett bit was actually great, and John Saxon in full “Jason and the Argonauts” mode fighting a live Freddy Skeleton. The film also features Larry Fishburne and Patricia Arquette before they were big.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master – As you can tell I have been doing a deep dive into this franchise in the spirit of Horror October, and this entry also came as a surprise as it initially felt like it was terribly acted, and borderline unwatchable but then a dog urinating flames to awaken Freddy from the dead (because why not?) pulled me back in. The effects in this are actually peak, and some of the practical effects in the third act, even though they pull from the 3rd movie, are certifiably insane. The Kafkaesque bit with Debbie is perhaps the worst thing that’s happened to any of Freddy’s victims. Freddy is also the most gif-able in this (he wears cool sunglasses on the beach at one point and even does a shark bit). Freddy’s destruction in this is satisfying just for the body horror effect on display – the whole franchise has been gradually shifting in to a full-on body horror extravaganza ever since the 2nd movie. Also I Want Your (Hands On Me) by Sinead Connor and MC Lyte goes incredibly hard over the end credits and pre Debbie’s demise.
Stay tuned for my favorite month - Noir November. I will try to cover as many Noir films as I can.
What I’ve been listening to this past month and song recommendations accompanying the above films:
RIP Ka