This was so long, which was mostly due to the 30 minutes of set up before the actual trial, which I found rather uninspiring. However the second the courtroom scenes begin, you realize right off the bat that this is a special sort of courtroom film. Jimmy Stewart’s character is so believable as a crafty theatrical lawyer that you forget it’s him despite his trademarked speech patterns. It’s funny seeing him go toe-to-toe against George C. Scott and that other guy while they figure out how to get his client off. There are a lot of things that didn’t age well, but that’s mostly due to it being made in 1959 and the fact that we treat women better than they were treated then. However, it was also ahead of it’s time dealing with rape and violence and psychology at a time I didn’t even know films were talking about them. Funny and smart, this was pretty great.
Quarantine Watch #185: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
This was such a beautifully looking film. Roger Deakins did such a good job. Westerns though typical look beautiful mostly due to the landscapes used as well as the tableaus created by the DP and director by using both the actors and the environment. You see a lot of that here. The cast was super strong, especially Casey Affleck. Aside from that though, I had a hard time enjoying it. This was mostly due to very slow pacing. It’s obvious that Andrew Dominik was inspired by the works of Terrance Malick as it just felt like a Malick film. I felt they also missed an opportunity to give more life to Jesse James as a character by really keeping the film measured.
Quarantine Watch #184: Shampoo (1975)
This was really hard to follow. I had trouble caring about any of the characters, especially Warren Beatty. I don’t get what they were doing or trying to say with all the Nixon stuff. I like Robert Towne, Warren Beatty, and Hal Ashby, but this just didn’t do it for me.
Quarantine Watch #183: Resistance (2020)
Jesse Eisenberg is such a talented actor. He can be a lot of different versions of the same character (ADVENTURELAND, ZOMBIELAND) or he can really bring a performance like THE SOCIAL NETWORK. This feels like a mix of both. He gave a fun and serious performance. I’m not sure what new things can be said in WWII Jews surviving the Holocaust films, but the moments with the miming was very fun. I really related to that. However I think the framing device with Ed Harris was unnecessary.
Quarantine Watch #182: Dan Soder: Son of a Gary (2019)
I had started the new season of the TWILIGHT ZONE at around midnight and it freaked me out so I needed to watch something funny before falling asleep. This is one of my favorite specials so it was fun to rewatch.
Quarantine Watch #181: Downhill (2020)
I always loved the concept of FORCE MAJEURE, but I didn’t really care for it’s execution. I had thought that with the comedy talents of Julia Louis- Dreyfus and Will Ferrell plus the writing of Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, and Jesse Armstrong it would really great. Instead it is just as dry as the original with very similar pacing. I did love the ending in this and how they did they initial avalanche scene, but otherwise, it was hard to stay interested.
Quarantine Watch #180: Bound (1996)
This film is so ahead of it’s time, it’s not even funny. It’s also dripping with sex at every turn. All three of the main actors give such great performances. This is easily my favorite Gina Gershon performance. Christopher Meloni as a young man was a big surprise too. I didn’t even recognize him, he’s so young. He plays such an asshole and I love it. However the real star here is Bill Pope. I’ve always been a fan of him, but it’s the most I’ve fallen for his cinematography. The shots in her are magical and knowing it was a limited budget is all the more impressive. They are innovative while still paying homage to the noir of the old era in films like DOUBLE INDEMNITY. He came a long way since his work on DARKMAN, ARMY OF DARKNESS, and CLUELESS. I can’t imagine how these sex scenes went over when people saw them. It’s so amazing the Wachowskis had the insight to bring on a sex expert to choreograph them. Additionally this is such a interesting thing to watch knowing what we know about the Wachowskis. The same could be said for THE MATRIX. The setting is also so simple it reminds me of other directorial debuts such as SHALLOW GRAVE, EVIL DEAD, and BLOOD SIMPLE.
Quarantine Watch #179: Billboard Dad (1998)
My sister and I used to watch this all the time when we were kids. When they added it to Hulu we had to watch it together so we waited and watched once I stayed at her place. It’s not as good as I remember it. In fact it may be the worse lit film in history. It’s clear a lot of money did not go into these Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen films. Another obvious thing is that Mary-Kate is definitely the stronger of the two in terms of acting chops.
Quarantine Watch #178: The Seven Deadly Sins: Prisoners of the Sky (2018)
I recently binged my way through the first 2 seasons of THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS and the in-between miniseries. I wish all of the show was out so I could finish it, but alas here I am. I put on this film to get my last little fix of THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS before having to wait for “Wrath of the Goddesses” and “Anger's Judgement” to come out (especially since I prefer watching dubbed rather than subbed). It also appears to take place after “Revival of the Commandments” due to Escanor’s involvement. Like most anime series films this is a little uneven, but I dig the characters so much I don’t care as much. Still — give me “Wrath of the Goddesses” already!
Quarantine Watch #177: Wadjda (2012)
From the second I saw the Eponymous character dancing to “Tongue Tied” by Grouplove, I knew I was gonna love this movie. It’s such a simple film — a girl wants to buy a bike, but it is so much more. There are so many layers here. It’s funny, romantic, heartbreaking, and life affirming. Wadjda is such a little pisser, a smart girl, a rebel, and an entrepreneur. She reminds me of Marjane Satrapi from PERSEPOLIS or Antoine Doinel from THE 400 BLOWS. I can’t help but root for her. When the bitch of a headmistress does that to her at the end to her, I cried. She worked so hard and had it taken away from her. Still I was so happy she told the competition about the bike. It’s also tremendously directed by Haifaa al-Mansour. It’s insane that she had to direct in the back of a van, communicating with the crew and cast via walkie-talkie and watching the actors on a monitor because of Saudi Arabian rules about her being around men outside.
Quarantine Watch #176: Eric André: Legalize Everything (2020)
Eric Andre is such a funny guy. There’s a lot of about him that is a bit over the top and plays to the humor of what I think a middle-schooler or high schooler would find hysterical. He mentions acting live Beavis and Butthead at one point and that simile feels apt. The other stuff he delves into — like imagining parents having sex, or the text message moments — is pitch perfect.
Quarantine Watch #175: Disclosure (2020)
As I mentioned during HORROR NOIRE, I love docs about the making of films as well as the analyzation of culture. This is the perfect companion piece for THE CELLULOID CLOSET documentary. It took me a while (longer than it should have) for me to see that I took for granted being able to see myself on screen — from my time as a child to throughout my life. I’ll never know what it is like to feel like I can’t see myself. Wether it takes until 2018 to see something like BLACK PANTHER come on screen. The Trans community has been through the ringer in life and we should be able to support them and include them in the film experience. As someone who wants to make film and TV shows — this is even more eye-opening that I thought it would be and it will be in the back of my mind whenever I make my own works.
Quarantine Watch #174: The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
My dad and I decided to watch this on Father’s Day together since I had never seen it and he likes it. He’s also a big Yankee fan and I grew up loving the Yankees as a kid. Seeing Babe Ruth and other Yankees from that era is really fascinating. I expected Babe to not be so great, but he does a fine job playing himself. This film is the most “good ole boy” film I’ve seen in a long time. It could have easily been directed by Capra.
Quarantine Watch #173: The Assistant (2020)
This is not what I expected it to be. When I heard what it was about (loosely based on the Harvey Weinstein office culture) I thought it was going to be handled similar to something like MARGIN CALL — the film would be simple, but with lots of moving parts. Instead this is a mediation on the culture that is so pervasive, not only in the film industry, but with office bureaucracy in general. It hurts so much at the end of the Matthew MacFadyen scene, where he tells her not to file the report as there isn’t clear evidence and it will only hurt her, but the real killing blow is his last line, “Don’t worry, you’re not his type.” Ooof. Julia Garner does such a great job. At the end of the day it plays with life similar to things such as STRANGER THAN PARADISE or ELEPHANT. It’s just this person’s day and that’s it. I wish there was a little more here, but with Julia Garner carrying the film it gets away with it’s minimalism.
Quarantine Watch #172: The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
It is impossible not to compare this to THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. I know people prefer that film to this, but I absolutely loved this. I think that’s due to the sing-song nature of CHERBOURG. The colors and world is super vibrant. I’m shocked at how good Gene Kelly is at French. He leaps off the screen — his smile just has that way. It is a little annoying that none of the actor’s are actually singing even though most of them are strong singes. Even though I don’t speak French, I had the songs stuck in my head. The dance scene on the bridge that opens the film feels like it directly inspired LA LA LAND and also was so lovely. The songs I particular loved were ‘We Travel From Town to Town',’ and ‘Sailors, Friends, Lovers, or Spouses’. This film is also the king of the “near miss” love story since everyone JUST misses one another to the point where you passionately screaming at the screen for them to just come into the room or linger a bit longer so lovers can finally meet. The one weird thing here is everyone in the town is so cavalier about the murder subplot -- I don’t think that part was necessary.
Quarantine Watch #171: Boogie Nights (1997)
My parents were watching this so I stayed to watch all the 1970s scenes (before everything goes downhill for the characters). Everything here is just so good, specifically the stellar cast.
Quarantine Watch #170: The Banker (2020)
I have the same feeling about this film as GREEN BOOK. I really enjoyed watching it, even though I could see the slightly problematic moments in there. The issue here is all three lead actors are so good that they elevate the film in their own ways. Anthony Mackie is so believable and commanding, Samuel L. Jackson is big in a way that only Samuel L. Jackson could be, and Nicholas Hoult is such a sweet dummy. It makes me want to get further into real estate math.
Quarantine Watch #169: The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Damn, this was so good. I saw the remake when it came out and never cared for it so I guess that's why I waited so long to actually see this. From the second Angela Lansbury comes on screen she is just amazing. There some people in their first line that blows you away and this was one of those roles. I didn’t care for Laurence Harvey at first, but he really did some great stuff as the film progressed. John Frankenheimer is becoming one of my favorite directors now.
Quarantine Watch #168: The King of Staten Island (2020)
I really enjoyed this one. In typical Judd Apatow fashion, it’s just slightly too long. It’s like there are two different movies here. One where the story is focused on dealing with his Mom’s new boyfriend and the other about his relationship with his girlfriend with both stories interconnecting with the firehouse stuff. The whole cast was great. I know everyone is talking about Pete Davidson in this, it’s kind of hard not to, but the real stand outs here go to Bel Powey. I’ve always loved her work, but she BECOMES this character. The Robert Smigel and Machine Gun Kelly cameos were fun too.
Quarantine Watch #167: Be Water (2020)
I loved how the film was put together — by using only old footage and then never showing the interviews, but just hearing the interviewee’s voice. It forces the film to be all about Bruce and how great he was. The stuff about his childhood was stuff I wasn’t aware of before. It really is a tragedy that he didn’t get to see how big and influential he was to the world.
