Hey, how about, for the first time in ages, I write some
reviews?
The Fifth Estate
Critics weren't too kind to this one, and it flopped. Maybe the subject was already dated for them? I more or less ignored the Wikileaks diplomatic cables and war documents stories when they occurred, content to get only the gist and headlines of the matter, so the story here was mostly new to me. Cumberbatch is much more interesting and intimidating here as Assange than he was as a quasi-Khan, and Daniel Brühl is pretty good, too. I really liked the visualization of Assange's site as an infinite sandy office.
B+
All is Lost (Netflix streaming!)
"Our Man" is a savvier sailor than myself in many respects, but he also makes some truly amateur goofs, most notably sleeping at night in a time when lighting flares at night is his best hope for rescue. (Also, there's apparently a fairly cheap gadget these days that can put out an SOS more or less anywhere in the world, but that's a more forgivable omission.) And as interesting as Redford is to watch, I couldn't help thinking Cuaron had it right, and that it'd have been more interesting to watch a woman of similar age - Streep, say. Still, it's a gripping and beautiful film; never dull.
B+
After.Life
One of my very rare forays into anything remotely classifiable as horror. Been meaning to check it out for years. A creepy and intriguing premise, but once it's established, the story doesn't really have anywhere to go. The protagonist is dull, which makes sense thematically, but doesn't help in generating interest. And of course no sex, please, we're Yanks (though it would have been a much lesser film without the decent amount of nudity we
do get). Still, for what it is, it's not badly made.
C
Obvious Child
Jenny Slate is wonderful and luminous as a young woman trying to decide whether to let herself fall for the father of the embryo she's going to abort. A small story beautifully and hilariously told, and Slate deserves awards acting consideration. Can women be funny? Yes, absolutely, though it seems to me they're nearly always at their funniest when riffing on matters pertaining to their own sexuality. Maybe I just haven't seen enough female comedy, or maybe there isn't a broad enough range yet. Hergé was loath to include women in the world of
Tintin because everyone in those books gets banged up a lot, and he didn't think seeing women banged up would be funny. He really only came up with Bianca Castafiore in that series, and the joke with her is she causes everyone around her pain with supreme obliviousness. Anyway, excellent film that puts the horrible
Knocked Up to shame.
A-