Category: Movies

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The Departed

This weekend I had a Guinness and heard Shipping Up to Boston by the Dropkick Murphy’s at least 3 times, so I am bound by the blood of my people to complete the ritual and watch The Departed. And what a goddamn treat it was to revisit. Up that Dropkick Murphy’s play count to 5 now. 

Saw this when I was 15 at Lowe’s theater in Assembly Square, which later sat dormant for a decade before becoming Assembly Row, now a shopping center with luxury apartments and an AMC. We cheered when Somerville was mentioned (“Uncle Jackie was a small time bookie who tended bar at the Vets in Somerville”) so this movie has a special place in my heart. I’d rate it a 5 for the nostalgic, hometown, ancestral element alone. But this time it gets the 5 because it absolutely kicks ass. Scorsese injects movement and a crackling energy that never stops. Monahan’s script is seemingly messy but structurally perfect. I caught more details this watch than I maybe ever have before, and I’ve seen this a ton. But the biggest praise goes to Thelma Schoonmaker, whose incredible editing allows it to not only propel forward, but sing beautifully. The assembly of this must have been a nightmare, or she just so expertly yields the chaos of the film that it appears that way. 

Make no mistake, the maestro’s cooking with gas. This thing just blasts off: 8 minutes in we’re introduced to the leads and get some of the best Nicholson in the whole movie. 18 minutes in Dropkick Murphy starts blasting and Marty and Thelma seamlessly intersperse all our leads and their journeys across montages. Wahlberg has the best monologue of the movie grilling Leo. I could quote the entire thing, but I have to include the end part: 

Billy Costigan: Families are always rising or falling in America, am I right?
Queenan: Who said that?
Billy Costigan: Hawthorne.
Dignam: [Dignam makes a farting sound] What’s the matter, smartass, you don’t know any fuckin’ Shakespeare?

A complex, duplicitous, up tempo script with so many fucking incredible lines, half a dozen from Dignam alone in the first 20 minutes. The supporting cast is a huge part of what makes this movie as great as it is. THE perfect Wahlberg role, a perfect Alec Baldwin role, a quietly crucial and intimidating Ray Winstone, a fatherly Martin Sheen, and Farmiga doing damn good work balancing and playing off Damon and DiCaprio. 

The one lead I do want to touch on is Damon. His accent is one of the most egregious only because he’s from here and it still sounds so exaggerated. But boy is he great otherwise. One of the first roles where he gets to play a weaselly snake, the type of role I think he does best. He is charming and has some great game, but is such a smug asshole that no one really likes him. His implied impotence is such an interesting detail to include. There’s all sorts of wild choices in this, all for the better. A certain amount of anger is radiating throughout, towards trigger happy fake cops, towards religion and child abusing priests, and towards the psychopathic monsters who ruin people’s lives as if they were taking a piss, whether they’re gangsters, priests, or federal agents. Marty fucking rules. 

“Francis, it’s a nation of fucking rats.”

I post more movie reviews on Letterboxd.

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Train to Busan + The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil

I’ve been getting into more South Korean films lately after loving Parasite (and the OG Oldboy back in the day) and these two movies were amazing. Train to Busan follows a group of people trying to get to, well, Busan, as a zombie outbreak hits. The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is about a gang leader and a cop teaming up to catch a serial killer on the loose. While both films are dark and violent, they both manage to be so exciting and fun, with moments of humor and humanity throughout. I was on the edge of my seat during both movies, the pace is so sharp and quick, there’s really no dull moments in either movie. I’d highly recommend them both. Train to Busan is on Netflix right now.

Both movies feature one of the most effortlessly charismatic actors I’ve seen in awhile, Don Lee (Ma Dong-seok). He’s a big bruiser who can somehow switch his vibe from deeply menacing to wholesomely compassionate at the drop of a hat while barely changing the look on his face. He’s got a role in the stacked cast of Marvel’s Eternals (with a ton of my other favorites) coming out at the end of the year and I can’t wait to follow this guy’s career. He’s got some other movies I want to check out, like the Good, the Bad and the Weird, along with more South Korean films that I’ve seen get a ton of love, including the Handmaiden and Burning. Really grateful for Parasite and Bong Joon Ho nudging me to check out more international and out there films.

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My Favorite Movies of 2019

  1. Parasite
  2. Uncut Gems
  3. Midsommar
  4. Marriage Story
  5. The Irishman
  6. Avengers: Endgame
  7. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
  8. Knives Out
  9. Booksmart
  10. ???

Honorable Mentions: Always Be My Maybe, Shazam!, The King, Deadwood: The Movie, The Report

Still need to see: Joker, Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse, Little Women, Honey Boy, The Last Black Man In San Francisco and plenty more I’m sure I missed

It was a pretty fantastic year for movies and there’s still a good amount I need to see. I watched a lot of these towards the end of the year, so some recency bias might be at play, but I really, really loved the top 6 movies, as wildly different as they are from each other. The rest were great too, but no other movies blew me away like those first 6. Each one felt like a powerhouse in it’s own way. Parasite is weird and funny, yet feels classic in it’s themes and cinematography. Every shot was perfect. It seamlessly blends straight up drama with off-kilter satire and moments of horror with slapstick comedy. Somehow it felt Shakespearean with the conflict between two families from very different circumstances. Uncut Gems is an uncomfortable thrill ride in the best possible way. There’s so much to unpack because so many great moments are jammed in at a breakneck pace. One highlight and example of the deep world the Safdie’s created: While Howard is being pursued for his hundred thousand dollar debt by serious, leg breaking collectors, another shrimpy, weaker bookie constantly pops up looking for the 32 grand Howard owes him, only to be told to fuck off, swatted away like a fly because Howard is too worried about the greater, scarier consequences closing in on him. It’s hilarious, as many parts of the movie somehow are, as we watch this guy dig his hole deeper and deeper. Also, I absolutely loved Julia Fox (and KG!). Midsommar just blew me away. Very disturbing, eerily beautiful, batshit crazy. I loved it and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since I saw it. Florence Pugh rightfully stole the show but Jack Reynor and Will Poulter play their roles perfectly as well. A friend said it’s a tough movie to recommend to someone, and I agree, but if you like fucked up disturbing movies, you’ll love it. Marriage Story is another brutal movie in it’s own way, but not being married probably helped me enjoy it. I loved how real it was, shifting from blame and anger to moments of tenderness trying to survive the soul crushing process of a divorce. Each scene had something interesting or unique going on it and connected to something deeper as the movie went on.

I love when movies perfectly execute their specific tone, while still managing to weave in moments of humor, compassion, wrath, and reality. All of these movies somehow managed to do that.

The next two could be interchangeable for me, weirdly considering the ‘beef’ between Scorsese and Marvel. First of all, Scorsese is probably my favorite director of all time, and I am a die heard Marvel fanboy, loving the MCU from the beginning. Both of these films are grand caps to momentous movie making. The Irishman is the coda to Scorsese’s meticulous mafia studies, somber and epic. It’s beautiful because it’s a Scorsese movie, but it’s also morbid and depressing. In this world you either die prematurely, murdered by a knife or a gun, or you simply continue living, enduring the unending march towards death that we all face. It’s a very long movie, which matches this march, and one I’ll definitely revisit in the future. A very different type of ending (though still with plenty of deaths) happened in Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of over a decade of movies, creating for the first time an entire cinematic universe across them all. As I said, I love the MCU movies and this was a bittersweet, cathartic end. With some time, I do think Infinity War may be the better movie, but Cap wielding Mjlonir to bitch slap Thanos around, plus the ensuing reunion/battle, was probably my favorite theater experience this year.

The next two movies were somewhat perplexing, in mostly great, surprising ways because both constantly subvert audience expectations. I laughed as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ended and the credits started rolling at the audacity of this weird, strange movie. I liked it, but it felt like nothing really happened. And upon reflection, not much did. It was a hang out movie, and we got to hang out with two fucked up men of Tarantino, played by two of the best actors we have. The whole movie felt anti-Tarantino in a way. When Pitt goes to check on the old man at the ranch, it’s nothing but suspense and tension building. We think for sure we’re going to find a corpse with flies hovering above it but instead…he’s fine. He was just napping. It was anti-climatic. So was the whole movie in a way. The hype and worry over a movie featuring Charles Manson, Sharon Tate, and Roman Polanski barely featured them at all. We got to watch DiCaprio go apeshit, agonizing over his career, and Pitt play basically himself, a cool, devastatingly good looking dude (who could also beat Bruce Lee in a fight and might have killed his wife). While Hollywood was nearly plotless, Knives Out was almost overstuffed with plot. Rian Johnson crafts a great murder mystery that also subverts typical mystery tropes throughout the whole movie. I was so thrown at one reveal in the middle of it, I thought they gave the whole movie away. Then the final twist came and it made sense. And god damn was the cast fantastic, top to bottom, but Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas shine the brightest. Original work from Tarantino and Rian Johnson is always more than welcome. Both movies have their small flaws, and could be viewed as “tied” in my rankings, but I want more movies like both of these! I’m looking forward to rewatching both, to hang out in Tarantino’s 1969 Hollywood, and to further grasp the mechanics and intricacies of Johnson’s unique murder mystery.

Then there’s Booksmart, which could easily be brushed off as an inverted Superbad remake, but instead it leaps forward with heart and empathy as it’s themes. And it’s funny as fuck.

Finally, I leave my #10 spot open. I’m fairly certain one of the movies I missed will become at least #10, over the Honorable Mentions I listed. I just need to see them first. having said that, I did really like the Honorable Mention movies a lot too. Shazam! was the last movie I watched that came out in 2019, and it was a goofy, funny, kind-hearted throwback. If I had to fill the #10 spot right now, it’d be that or The King, which is another fairly formulaic story enlivened by zigging where you least expect it. It had one of the best endings to a movie I’ve seen in awhile.

Favorite non-2019 movies I saw for the first time: A Star is Born, All That Jazz, Paterson, Wonder Boys, While We’re Young

I watched 5 Adam Driver movies this year (Star Wars was not one of them) and he may be my current favorite actor now. His acting made what could have been a few “boring” movies really exciting and interesting. Paterson is a movie where almost nothing happens, as Adam Driver’s bus driver/poet character just goes about his daily routine for a week, and yet it’s soothing in a way that illustrates a peaceful, zen approach to life. The Report, a pretty standard investigative political drama, is energized by his relentless, manic pursuit of the truth and justice as his character uncovers step by step how the U.S. came to use torture following 9/11. He also played a sort of scummy but likable aspiring filmmaker in While We’re Young, which, along with Marriage Story and the Meyerowitz Stories last year, cemented me as a Noah Baumbach fan.

Finally, I absolutely loved two very different (or are they?) musical movies, A Star Is Born and All That Jazz. Both featured drug addicted stars doing what they loved: doing drugs, chasing women, and singing and dancing. What’s not to love? For real though, these were right up there with the best movies I watched this year. I’m excited to catch up on all that I missed, and maybe tweak this list in the future. I hope next year brings as much diverse and powerful movies as this year did.

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My Favorite Movies of 2018

  • A Quiet Place
  • Annihilation
  • Avengers: Infinity War
  • Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot
  • mid90s
  • Mission Impossible: Fallout
  • Sorry to Bother You
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
  • Vice
  • Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

There were a ton of great movies tin 2018, and a lot I’m still catching up on, but I tried to stick to my absolute favorites with this short list. I got an AMC Stubs A-List pass ($20 for 3 movies a week, every week), so I got to go the theater a lot, seeing a few of these films twice. Clearly, it was an insanely good year for action/blockbusters. Seeing Infinity War opening night in Seattle on the last night of the west coast road trip with Sean, feeling the excitement and energy, was electric. I don’t like disruptions during a movie, but I was cheering right along with the audience as Thor thundered into Wakanda. It really was the perfect culmination of what Marvel’s been working towards for 10 years…and there’s still another to go.

I though Infinity War was a shoe-in for my favorite of the year…until I saw Into the Spider-Verse. Wow. I already wrote about it, but god damn, believe the hype and more. I saw it once in IMAX, and again in IMAX 3D and it was even better.

Two excellent first films from first time directors: mid90s and Sorry To Bother You. mid90s hit home for a fellow small punk kid who wanted to fit in and did crazy shit in order to do so. And it was just beautiful, intimate, and real. Sorry To Bother You is something completely different, one of the most ridiculous, in the best way, movies I’ve seen in awhile, fucked up and hilarious at the same time.

Two incredible theater experiences: A Quiet Place and Mission: Impossible Fallout. A Quiet Place was, appropriately, probably the quietest theater experience I’ve ever had. The movie created that atmosphere expertly and earned the silence and anticipation, the scares and thrills. Fallout’s action was unparalleled, and must be seen on the biggest fucking screen possible for maximum joy.

Annihilation was another surreal experience, and while it didn’t hit me strongly initially, it’s stayed with me since I saw it, and I’m dying to watch it again.

Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot is one of the last movies I watched in 2018 and probably the most unlike any movie on this list. It’s based on the true story of John Callahan, played by Joaquin Phoenix, an alcoholic who is paralyzed in a drunk driving accident, and showcases his painful recovery, physically, and from alcohol through AA, onto becoming a famous, controversial cartoonist. Phoenix does powerful work, portraying a human being so fully: he’s a dick, he’s sweet, he struggles, he finds himself. Phoenix was in a number of powerful films this year (I still need to see the Sisters Brothers, I loved the book) but I want to give some more love to Jonah Hill and his year here:

Hill plays Phoenix’s eccentric sponsor, and on top of his directorial debut, he cemented himself as one of my favorite actors working today. I re-watched This Is The End earlier in the year, which is still one of the best comedies of the last decade, and I honestly think Jonah Hill deserved an Oscar nom for playing himself. I have to rewatch the Wolf of Wall St. now too. I hope he continues to make films himself, but I enjoy him so much acting and the interesting, challenging roles he takes. The press he did this year for mid90s was also very vulnerable and honest. mid90s seems to be very much about his own childhood, including the very end of the movie. In interviews he talked about his insecurities, lessons learned, and this only made him like him more.

Finally, Vice and Won’t You Be My Neighbor, two polar opposites. (Technically I watched these two in the beginning of 2019, but they’re 2018 releases so I’m including them.) Vice. God damn. One of the most fun, depressing movies I’ve seen. It’s an ambitious look at the quiet, power-hungry monster that is Dick Cheney, but the editing, direction and flourishes of filmmaking are kinetic, pulling back and in on all the horrible, dumb damage one expert, silent bureaucrat unleashed on the world. I liked the movie a lot, but I felt depressed afterwards. So the next night I watched Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the documentary on Mr. Rogers. And I bawled like a baby throughout. Seeing the love and empathy he truly lived, the attention and pure focus he gave to each child he interacted with, and the determination behind each show and theme it covered, was gobsmackingly emotional. Probably because it’s so rare to see someone like that anymore. I can’t think of another human being, especially one on television, who is so empathic and heartfelt and gentle in their life and interactions. Especially today.

There you have it. A wonderful year for movies, and this is just a slice of what I thought was great this year. I’m excited to check out what I missed, but I can’t lie, I’m counting down the days til’ Endgame.

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I got to see an advanced screening of Into the Spider-Verse last night in IMAX. What an amazing movie. It’s the best Spider-Man movie made in my book. The story is so strong and weaves so many webs (sorry) while still honing in on an emotional hero’s journey. The animation style is unlike anything I’ve seen before, but so is the camera movement and the action choreography. The action is frenetic, whipping all over the place in the best possible way. It’s gorgeous, insanely colorful and has some of the most creative visuals I’ve seen in an animated film. And it’s absolutely hilarious. My boy Jake Johnson killed it but the entire voice cast is phenomenal, especially Miles (Shameik Moore) and his father (Brian Tyree Henry aka Paperboy). There’s so many great character moments and surprises throughout, but I don’t want to spoil any of them. Go see this movie if you’re at all a fan of Spidey or animated movies. 

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Black Panther & Marvel Rankings

God damn what a gorgeous, powerful movie. Boseman and Nyong’o are elegant and badass. Shuri steals the show. Killmonger’s the best villain Marvel has had yet. Michael B. Jordan absolutely killed it. It’s a real ass movie about deep, painful conflict that’s festered for generations. The scenes in the ancestral plane are touching and tragic. It also has a sense of humor and Andy Serkis is maniacally entertaining. Loved it.

Here’s my stab at ranking all of the 18(!) Marvel movies up to this point.

MCU Power Rankings

  1. Captain America: Winter Soldier
  2. Guardians of the Galaxy
  3. Captain America: Civil War
  4. Black Panther
  5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
  6. Avengers: Age of Ultron
  7. Iron Man
  8. Captain America: The First Avenger
  9. Thor: Ragnarok
  10. The Avengers
  11. Doctor Strange
  12. Iron Man 3
  13. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
  14. Ant-Man
  15. The Incredible Hulk
  16. Thor
  17. Iron Man 2
  18. Thor: The Dark World

God damn. The fact that there’s 18 movies on it alone is incredible, and that 75% of them are at the very least, good, is just astounding. I’ve enjoyed all of the Marvel movies to some extent, except maybe the last 3 or 4. Winter Soldier and Guardians are two of my favorite movies period. And I’m fully expecting Infinity War to blow them all out of the water. As a Marvel nerd, this is really special.

 

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Lady Bird

Man I loved this movie. Funny, real, surprising. Every character, small or large is wonderfully played and realized. The dynamic between Lady Bird and her parents felt intimately familiar. I’ve been catching up with all the Oscar contenders this past month and they really are all incredible and beautiful in their own way. 2017 was an extraordinary year for movies, and I would have a very hard time trying to rank them in any order. So I won’t. I’ll just enjoy them. And I still have a few left to check out!