August 2018 Recap

( Source )

Last August, I was preparing to begin my first semester of my freshman year in university, and I went all out, watching as many movies as I could squeeze into my days. It was Summer Under the Stars on TCM, and I exclusively watched movies playing on the channel during that month, making a point to watch at least one film from each featured star. I considered trying that again this year, but I just wasn't as enthused by the selection of stars and films this year as I was in 2017--and more than that, I was feeling kind of burnt out this month and did not want to commit myself to any specific movie-watching challenges. The closest I came to that was getting a few 2017 releases out of the library and watching through them; this turned out to be a great decision, as most of my selections were excellent and I discovered some new favorites among those films I missed out on seeing last year. My classic film watching was less successful, and I watched a disproportionate number of disappointing films this month. Overall, August was a pretty boring month, and I am hoping September goes a lot better, both in terms of movies and my day-to-day life. 

First-Time Viewings: 39
Re-Watches: 8

1. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
2. Re-Watch: What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
3. Johnny Belinda (1948)
4. Suddenly (1954)
5. Safe in Hell (1931)
6. Soylent Green (1973)
7. Re-Watch: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
8. Dear Ruth (1947)
9. Re-Watch: The Awful Truth (1937)
10. I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
11. Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
12. The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
13. For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
14. My Life as a Zucchini (2017)
15. Re-Watch: Heathers (1988)
16. Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
17. Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
18. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
19. L.A. Story (1991)
20. Jezebel (1938)
21. Armored Car Robbery (1950)
22. Now, Voyager (1942)
23. High Society (1955)
24. Silk Stockings (1956)
25. Morning Glory (1933)
26. Some Came Running (1958)
27. Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
28. BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017)
29. Stranger by the Lake (2013)
30. The Secret of the Blue Room (1932)
31. The Salesman (2017)
32. After the Storm (2017)
33. El Sur (1983)
34. Re-Watch: Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
35. Wind River (2017)
36. Personal Shopper (2017)
37. Big Eden (2000)
38. Lean on Pete (2017)
39. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
40. Bombshell (1933)
41. The Bad Batch (2017)
42. Good Time (2017)
43. You Were Never Really Here (2018)
44. Re-Watch: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
45. Re-Watch: The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
46. The First Deadly Sin (1980)
47. Re-Watch: Suddenly (1954)

By Decade:

• 10s: 0
• 20s: 0
• 30s: 7
• 40s: 6
• 50s: 7
• 60s: 2
• 70s: 2
• 80s: 6
• 90s: 4
• 2000s: 2
• 2010s: 11

Suddenly (1954) ( Source )

Frank Sinatra has, quite abruptly, become one of my favorite actors. I watched this film at the beginning of the month, and went on to watch High Society, Some Came Running, The First Deadly Sin, and re-watched The Manchurian Candidate, the film that first made me take notice of him a year ago. That last one is certainly the best movie he was ever in, however, Suddenly is certainly no slacker in the race. As I watched it, I was amazed by the many parallels to the assassination plot-line in the later Manchurian Candidate; only this time Sinatra is the potential assassin, and seeing him play the bad guy really is worth the ticket price all on its own. Despite being a much smaller man than co-star Sterling Hayden, he convincingly dominates both the hostage situation and the screen itself, stealing the scene every time he appears. This just might be Sinatra's best performance, and one well-worth a look in this under-seen Noir gem, preferably in a double bill with The Manchurian Candidate or another hostage Noir, like He Ran All the Way.

BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017) ( Source )

I have mentioned before that my greatest cinephile-related shortcoming is my hesitance to watch long movies. Anything over 2 hours gives me pause, and usually I need a really excellent reason to talk myself into giving it a chance. Thankfully, BPM gave me one: an intimate look into the gay activist group ACT UP in Paris at the height of the AIDS crisis. Not only do I love queer cinema, but I particularly gravitate to queer films that explore little-known areas of history, which this one does beautifully. Much of the criticism of this film is, ironically, aimed at the length, as the film quite obviously could have benefited from additional time in the editing room with a more discerning editor. Much of the film takes place in ACT UP meetings that are recreated in real time, creating a documentary-like feel that, while effective, leads to a lot of time spent on squabbles that occur during the meetings that do not really advance the story or the viewer's understanding of ACT UP. Nevertheless, what the film gets right, it really gets right; there are so many incredible scenes and characters in this film, particularly Sean as played by Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, a really excellent actor who I hope to see more of in the future. With its tighter editing and story structure, Call Me By Your Name is still my favorite LGBT film of 2017, but BPM easily gets my vote for the second spot.

El Sur (1973) ( Source )

Over 3 years ago now, I watched a little movie called The Spirit of the Beehive. I had recently seen and loved Pan's Labyrinth, and hearing that this earlier film was a major inspiration for Guillermo del Toro, I knew I had to see it. Unfortunately, I watched it much too soon in my film buff education: I had only seen a couple of foreign language films at that point, and I had not even seen the 1931 Frankenstein that so heavily informs the narrative of the movie. I found it almost impossible to get through, and really had no appreciation for it by the time I reached the end. I have not yet revisited it, so I cannot say for sure that my opinion will change when I do see it again, however, I know for sure that I will at least be able to appreciate its place in film history much better than I did back in 2015. All that being said, El Sur is director Victor Erice's sophomore film, following his debut The Spirit of the Beehive, and I was very curious to see how I would respond to this one. Happily, I thought it was wonderful: a really evocative study of memory, with one of the finest voice-over narrations that I have encountered. I loved the moments when the narrator would point out holes in her memory, or things she may be mis-remembering. I am increasingly fascinated by the fallibility of memory, and this film, better than any other I have encountered, captures that sense of unreliability when we attempt to think back on our memories of our lives.

Wind River (2017) ( Source )

My most deeply held belief in regard to the analysis of media is that no criticism is true in every case. Every book, song, or film must be assessed on its own terms; while certain negative trends may, and should, be identified, it should still be recognized that not every film that follows the pattern is automatically flawed. In the case of Wind River, a lot of reviewers took issue with the film's adherence to "white savior" tropes--and after seeing it for myself, I was disheartened to see how many simply dismissed the film on this point, without regard for all of the other complex issues the film addresses. Because indeed, while the film does fit into an unfortunate pattern of white savior films, it also manages to elevate itself above most of these, shining a light on some really difficult topics that most films of this breed would shy away from. In Wind River, the white characters must speak for the Native ones because the latter are so disenfranchised that they literally do not have a voice in the "post"-colonial world they live in; this lack of a voice is reflected in the set-up of the film, where white characters are the ones given the legal authority to deal with Native issues, and must themselves face the horrors of what their own race has done to this group of people. Much in the same vein as Taylor Sheridan's earlier screenplay Sicario, this is a brutal, powerful film about modern-day race relations and one that should not be missed over the perceived flaw of Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen's casting as the leads.

Personal Shopper (2017) ( Source )

I am continually amazed at how far Kristen Stewart has come in such a short time. Once seen as nothing more than a joke, she has worked her way from the bottom up, proving herself to be one of the most talented actresses of her generation. Time and time again, she has enthralled me even in movies that I was otherwise disappointed by--for example, Clouds of Sils Maria. While I did not love that film the way so many others did, I did love Stewart's character, so I have been looking forward to seeing Personal Shopper, Assayas' new film where Stewart gets to play the lead. This time I was not disappointed; while I never quite fell in love with the film as I was watching it, it has remained on my mind ever since, and even now I randomly find myself thinking about it, turning over specific scenes in my mind. Stewart carries the film--often acting alone with no dialogue--and she never drops the ball for a second, always knowing what she needs to do to make a scene go across naturally. This is a film I know I will come to appreciate even more with a re-watch, and while it does not quite reach the heights of A Ghost Story, I just love that 2017 has provided me with not one, but two excellent modern ghost films. What a time to be alive.