Category: Film

A grimy, ultimately *too* claustrophobic Taxi Driver-esque portrayal of a suicidal hitman who gets more than he bargained for when hired to rescue a young girl from a child-sex ring. Everybody in this film is traumatized, and we soon figure out that the weapon-of-choice of “Joe” (Joaquin Phoenix, scarred and paunchy in body) is tied in to his own childhood. (This gets reworked near the end, suggesting that trauma has been passed down but in a different way.)

It’s shocking, it will make you jump, but Ramsey clevely does a lot of the brutal violence off-screen, not that you notice this while watching. I would have liked to have spent a little longer with some of these characters–a lot happens wordlessly–but this is how Ramsey chose to do it.

Great score by Jonny Greenwood, too.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

I want to recommend this to my film students as an example of how *not* to direct or edit comedy. Every time a laugh could have been wrestled out of a tepid situation, the scene cuts early. Every time a reaction shot could have been funny, they cut to something too soon. Add to that a premise that hasn’t been thought out–her delusion in image is one thing, but why does she turn from a type B personality to type A? Why is she nice to her boyfriend but a mean-girl to her friends? And shouldn’t a comedy end with a big comedy set piece? This ends with an inspirational speech about regular women having confidence…and that’s why they need to buy budget cosmetics.

Was the Amy Schumer show written and performed by completely different people (including Amy?)

Saving graces: Michelle Williams spaced out CEO (when’s the last time she did comedy? Do more!) and Aidy Bryant wringing laughs out of nowhere.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

I want to recommend this to my film students as an example of how *not* to direct or edit comedy. Every time a laugh could have been wrestled out of a tepid situation, the scene cuts early. Every time a reaction shot could have been funny, they cut to something too soon. Add to that a premise that hasn’t been thought out–her delusion in image is one thing, but why does she turn from a type B personality to type A? Why is she nice to her boyfriend but a mean-girl to her friends? And shouldn’t a comedy end with a big comedy set piece? This ends with an inspirational speech about regular women having confidence…and that’s why they need to buy budget cosmetics.

Was the Amy Schumer show written and performed by completely different people (including Amy?)

Saving graces: Michelle Williams spaced out CEO (when’s the last time she did comedy? Do more!) and Aidy Bryant wringing laughs out of nowhere.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

This review may contain spoilers.

“A Nordic ‘Carrie'” sounds dismissive, but “Thelma” *is* that with many more layers of complexity. Eili Harboe plays the title character, raised by fundamentalist Christians in a very secular Norway whose telekinetic powers are unleashed once she leaves home for college and falls in love with Alma (Kaya Wilkins). The sexual awakening is nicely done, even erotic, and the filmmakers get in some ambiguity by suggesting that perhaps Kaya’s attraction to Thelma isn’t exactly of her own free will.

However, the film does seem to be building up to a major set piece along the lines of the Stephen King film, and when it doesn’t (spoiler!) it feels off-kilter to me. “Thelma” does contain some striking images, cinematography, locations (what a beautiful opera house!), and Harboe puts in a great performance. The portrayal of Christianity is nuanced and not shrill. It has layers. Worth your time.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

This review may contain spoilers.

“A Nordic ‘Carrie'” sounds dismissive, but “Thelma” *is* that with many more layers of complexity. Eili Harboe plays the title character, raised by fundamentalist Christians in a very secular Norway whose telekinetic powers are unleashed once she leaves home for college and falls in love with Alma (Kaya Wilkins). The sexual awakening is nicely done, even erotic, and the filmmakers get in some ambiguity by suggesting that perhaps Kaya’s attraction to Thelma isn’t exactly of her own free will.

However, the film does seem to be building up to a major set piece along the lines of the Stephen King film, and when it doesn’t (spoiler!) it feels off-kilter to me. “Thelma” does contain some striking images, cinematography, locations (what a beautiful opera house!), and Harboe puts in a great performance. The portrayal of Christianity is nuanced and not shrill. It has layers. Worth your time.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

Five stars for the first half, which had the freewheeling abandon of watching four friends just enjoy each others’ company and go nuts in New Orleans. I unapologetically laughed many times out loud, esp. due to Tiffany Haddish, because, yes, she’s a rising talent for a reason.

Two stars for the second half that had to bring in conflict and problems so that we could come out of it learning “friends are important,” which was plainly obvious in the first half. “Oh what a falling off was there!” as Shakespeare said.

Broad City does this shaggy-dog friendship so well, it’s a shame these lessons aren’t learned more.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

Pitch black satire that might surprise those coming from the relatively light Veep…but probably not. This is brutal (and brutally funny) stuff, as the struggle to find a successor to Stalin travels similar territory to Veep and The Thick of It, but with 1000 percent more fear and firing squads. But if you’ve been watching Iannucci all this time, he’s always been pointing in this direction.
Everybody is perfect, but man, Steve Buscemi’s Nikita Khrushchev is amazing, and Simon Russell Beale is an evil bureaucratic monster playing Lavrentiy Beria.
It warms me ol’ cockles that this is banned in Russia…because you know the underground DVD/file market on this is exploding.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

This review may contain spoilers.

Because SS has made so many heist movies, I wonder what he’s trying out in this new one. I feel mayyyybe he’s seeing what elements he can leave out and still make the film work. Because it’s at a racetrack (albeit a NASCAR one) I couldn’t help but think of The Killing, but there’s very little indulgence in the planning–we barely see them even discuss it–and there’s very little investigation and (spoiler) very little punishment. There are no weak links in the crew though everybody is presented as a potential weak link. In the end, there’s a sort of proletarian support of the crime by everybody save the Feds, and an ending that suggests that while justice might be just around the corner, the film could care less. Great frikkin’ soundtrack, btw.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills

Bits of Arrival, Stalker, J.G. Ballard novels, Possession, and yes, a bit of Monsters and Predator. Natalie Portman leads a group of doomed women into a “forbidden zone” where alien life is replicating and copying life at a mutated pace. At the same time, as some have pointed out, a metaphor about depression, where all the characters are manifestations of dealing with trauma. Understandably not a favorite with the crowds because the execution and the metaphor begin to peel away from one another. However, very enjoyable in a headtrip way on the big screen with amazing sound design and soundtrack. Deep Dream meets Rousseau.

Also: nobody seems to care this is a “doomed army mission” sub-genre piece with a fully female cast.

Also: Actually a bit too straightforward and on-the-nose, which puts it at odds with its preceding film, Ex Machina.

Vía Letterboxd – Ted Mills