Time travel
I probably haven’t watched Back to the Future in 20 years because I know it by heart; I grew up on it. Finally I had a reason to return to it, as it was time to share it with my kid. He loved it. It’s a perfect movie.
It’s only as I’ve put together a list of biggest gaps in my movie watching experience that I’ve gone back for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This, following December’s first viewing of The Terminator. Rated R movies weren’t exactly on the menu in 1991 when I was 5. So, what did I think of the sequel? It’s an exemplary action film with stunts and special effects that still wow today. And thank goodness for the humor, otherwise it would all be too self-serious.
I had worked out that as a time travel movie, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die would be have, as a core text, the Terminator movies, so I made sure to watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day first. But as a comedy it feels a bit more like The World’s End crossed with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (also starring Sam Rockwell). I went in with low expectations, and you know what? I did have fun.
Screwball comedies
My Man Godfrey is a cute and zany comedy from 1936 starring William Powell and Carole Lombard. An audience loves rich people making fools of themselves, and this film gives us a whole family of lovely subjects.
Palm Beach Story is a 1942 Preston Sturges romance/comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea who is either always directed to glower, or always feels it right to do so anyway. Colbert is dynamic and delightful and supporting performances from Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor are winning. Sig Arno is a scene stealer, and I haven’t even mentioned the Weenie King. Colorful cast, fun time.
Action
Police Story is a Hong Kong action film by Jackie Chan. A joyous confluence of impressive stunts and goofy humor, this is a very watchable popcorn flick I can easily recommend.
What can I say about John Wick: Chapter 2? The visuals are candy-coated and the amount of unintentional humor made me think maybe it was intentional. Nothing makes sense in this world, but boy did it set up the threequel.
Period pieces
The Count of Monte Cristo is 2002 swashbuckling adventure film that explores politics and morality. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. I understand that it’s not one of the highest quality films; I just love it. On this rewatch, I shared it with one of my kids. He enjoyed it, and it sparked a wide-ranging discussion of its themes.
The Age of Innocence is a 1993 romantic drama directed by Martin Scorsese. It's wonderfully acted by Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer. Scorsese's characteristically inventive choices add an odd but intriguing texture to this tale set in 1870s New York society. I write often about formal choices like those, but what a movie makes one experience is worth mention too. This movie sure knows how to yearn, and it made me yearn too. What a wonderful thing it is that art can make us feel.
Warped realities
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is a drama/comedy but it’s also a horror film in the way Marty Supreme is, or Brazil, or Beau is Afraid. Call it “anxiety horror”. It’s a standout film with clever ideas and a singular performance by Rose Byrne.
Anomalisa is a stop-motion animated film by Charlie Kaufman that explores some of the uncanny things about being human in a, well, uncanny fashion. I don’t know why, but that always does it for me; really liked this one.
I expected more from The Manchurian Candidate. I didn’t care for either of the performances of the male leads. Janet Leigh’s character serves no purpose whatsoever and should have been written out to tighten up the pace. The film often seems quite clever, but then it doesn’t trust its audience, over-explaining everything it’s doing.
I think it’s an important movie, boundary pushing and influential. Angela Lansbury is great in it, and some of its images are striking. But for me it fell short of its reputation.
Misc
The Color of Pomegranates is like a poem, which is to say it’s full of beautiful imagery and strange symbolism that is utterly baffling to me. It’s film as Art. Which I found enjoyable if not comprehensible.
I didn’t enjoy The Lego Batman Movie as much as the other Lego movies, but it was a lot of fun.
High Anxiety is a Hitchcock sendup by Mel Brooks. It contains a lot of humorous parodies, but falls short of being very funny. Madeline Kahn’s performance as the “Hitchcock blonde” was fun. Maybe the best part was the Bernard Herrmann-esque score.
Graphic novels
Final Cut is gorgeously illustrated, featuring Charles Burns’ signature line work, bold and impeccable, illuminated with sophisticated colors. It wove together intriguing themes and images, which kept me curious how it would all come together but Burns chose not to take these elements to their fullest extent or in the direction that I thought he was signaling. That either means a comprehension failure on my part or intentional wrongfooting on his. A review by Rick Ray (warning: spoilers) more eloquently articulates my understanding of and critique of the book.
