The Whale – Darren Aronofsky

Definitely a heart-wrenching movie, but I think that Brendan Fraser’s performance is really pulling a lot of that emotional weight. Man, he can act. It’s so rare to see pain, shame, and remorse portrayed in such a believable way, and this portrayal hit like a gut punch at so many moments. This was my first good cry of 2022, and that is almost all thanks to Fraser’s acting. As for the rest of the movie, it was pretty good, but not mind-blowing, and not even one of Aronofsky’s best outings in my opinion. The characterization of the daughter character was a little weird, and I’m still not sure if her father’s high opinion of her is meant to be read as misguided or not. Maybe its up for interpretation, but I interpreted her as being kind of terrible. I get that she’s not happy about her dad abandoning her, but give me a fucking break–she sucks. This isn’t the worst thing in the world, though, as the actress’s performance was pretty good and it opened up a lot of doors for the main attraction of the movie: Fraser’s performance.

Brokeback Mountain – Ang Lee

Another tear-jerker here. The chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Ledger is incredible, and it’s an unmatched shame that Ledger was not able to continue to give outstanding performances like this. The cinematography is great, and it’s impressive that so many great scenes and shots were able to be achieved given the numerous outdoor environments that make up the bulk of the film. The only real criticism I would have would be about the moment that the boys get caught kissing. It was pretty dumb for them to be so brazen as to have a passionate kiss during the day, outside of a presumably populated apartment complex. I mean, this is the 1960s, and Ledger’s wife is obviously interested in seeing how her husband reacts to seeing an old friend, him being as solitary and stoic as he is. I get that they’re in love and excited to see each other, but it’s incredibly stupid and not something that anyone having an extramarital affair, homosexual or otherwise, would do.

Women Talking – Sarah Polley

My girlfriend really loved this movie, but I thought it was just alright. There’s nothing I really have against it, and I think that the premise is extremely compelling, but the execution is a little lacking. In a nutshell, I don’t think that the movie made good use of the film medium. For example, a scene that could be ripe with subtext and intrigue would be immediately deflated by narration that was at all times superfluous and useless. I don’t want to get too far into it, because I definitely don’t hate the movie. The acting is great, the soundtrack is pretty good too. I guess I just don’t feel that strongly about it.

The Social Dilemma – Jeff Orlowski

Pretty interesting in terms of subject matter, pretty stupid in terms of presentation. I won’t get into the subject matter here, as it doesn’t really present much info about social media that I didn’t already know, but I’ll make a few comments about the presentation. The family drama element of the movie is totally laughable and has the same energy as a PSA, which makes for a fun viewing with friends but is otherwise pretty stupid and honestly kind of undermines the points the doc is trying to make. Digging deeper into that, the whole thing with that actor from Mad Men who is “inside” the kid’s phone? What is that? It’s a little corny, in my opinion. The totally non-partisan messaging of the radical political party is also pretty funny (the picket signs reading “No Voting!” got a good laugh out of me). Not too bad overall, though.

Office Space – Mike Judge

Perfect movie to watch on a day of playing hooky at work! It’s a pretty funny movie, and I can see why it’s so iconic. The main character is a fantastic everyman that encapsulates all the frustrations so many of us have with modern-day work culture, and I connected with him a lot. To be honest, though, I don’t really have much else to say about it. I can’t say that it is that thought-provoking, as it basically accomplishes a similar goal as venting to a coworker about how much you hate your job.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – David Fincher

I like this movie. I know it was based on a Fitzgerald short story, but I really think it would have worked a lot better as a long novel, since the best parts of the story had to do with the subtleties of Benjamin’s condition insofar as it affected his personal relationships. The worst parts of the movie, for me, are some of the more over-the-top moments, like the attack on his tugboat in WW2. The movie can also be really boring at times, especially when it comes time to flash back to Cate Blanchette’s character in the hospital. Jesus, those parts are a slog. Still, it is entertaining and somewhat moving when it wants to be, and the visual effects are incredible, especially for 2008.

Top Gun: Maverick – Joseph Kosinski

Fun to watch with friends but obviously very stupid. I can’t buy Tom Cruise as a romantic lead in any capacity, the man is just too damn strange. The action is really fun, and I think that people (my friends included) may have been a little too hard on aspects of the movie that are clearly meant to be ironic or tongue-in-cheek. At the same time, I definitely feel like this movie encapsulates a lot of what I hate about modern-era Hollywood: the endless resurrection of classic IPs, the bland and uninspired cinematography, the shallow approach to storytelling, etc.

The Raid: Redemption – Gareth Evans

Fucking sick. Damn, this was so incredibly fun to watch. Unlike the above movie, I’m sure I could have fun with The Raid under any circumstances. The action is so well choreographed and unique, and I didn’t feel like there was a single dull moment. There’s nothing I can really criticize about it. Is it the deepest, most thought-provoking movie I’ve ever seen? It barely has a plot, so obviously not. But that’s not what this movie is about.

Heat – Michael Mann

Kind of lukewarm on this one. Cool little 90s time capsule, fun performances from Pacino and DeNiro, but not a lot of meat on the bones, so to speak. Weird portrayal of women as well.

Bridesmaids – Paul Feig

Funny, kind of cute. Stellar performances from all the main cast, including Rose Byrne, who I think is a super underrated comedic actress. I don’t like the relationship between Wiig and the cop character though. They feel really weird and toxic and cringey. I also wish that the movie showed more of Milwaukee, since they really just use footage of it for B-roll, but I guess I shouldn’t expect more than that. B+

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Joaquim De Santos et al.

Somehow even better than the first one. Words cannot describe how much I loved this enthusiastic, creative, funny, heartfelt movie. This is the best blockbuster movie I’ve seen in years, no question. If someone can watch this movie without a smile on their face, they need to have their pulse checked.

Barbie – Greta Gerwig

Campy, fun, and hilarious. As many have already said, Barbie is something of a 100-level class on feminism, not offering ideas that are necessarily new to people who are into the idea that half of the world’s population should be treated fairly. That said, the presentation of this information is definitely new, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie actually makes people rethink their latent prejudices and sexist ideas.

I find myself feeling somewhat cynical about this movie’s commercialism. In some ways, this feels as much like a Barbie commercial as it does a thoughtful and funny feminist film, and it’s hard for me to reconcile these two things. I don’t think the fact that this is a Mattel-endorsed, multi-million dollar blockbuster necessarily takes away from all that is great about this movie, but it’s definitely something that was on my mind while watching.

The Thing – John Carpenter

Unbelievably entertaining. It’s a little funny that this was the movie I watched post-Barbie, because it’s almost the opposite kind of film and, in some ways, something that the Barbie movie would probably make fun of; it’s a gory action-horror movie starring uber-masculine Kurt Russel in his prime, wielding a flamethrower and drinking concerning amounts of whiskey. There’s not a single woman in this movie, nor is there any semblance of tenderness. Does that make it bad? I don’t know, but I definitely liked watching it. The monster effects were honestly really good and more effective at producing scares than most CGI creatures, in my opinion. I also think the movie succeeds at building slow, mounting fear and paranoia; it’s not all dumb fun.

Pulse – Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Genuinely scary. I’m sure that, as an American, I’m just getting the cream of the crop, but I feel like Japanese horror movies are particularly effective.

Pulse thrives in ambiguity. It never draws too much attention to its imagery, which is just strange enough to make your skin crawl. At many points this movie reminded me of moments from my childhood, when I turned the TV to static for the first time and almost pissed myself out of fear, or when I would hear the stuttering, blaring dial-up modem at night, not knowing what it was. These things scared me because they were unknown and technological, and thus inhuman and mysterious.

On the other hand, Pulse’s plot is unremarkable, and I can’t really even remember it now, to tell the truth. But I’ll never forget the movie’s imagery and atmosphere.

Let the Right One In – Tomas Alfredson

Closed out October with one of the best horror movies I’ve ever seen. Man, what a trip this movie is.

I’ve always felt that the whole vampire trope has gotten a bad rep. People blame that on Twilight, but vampires were goofy long before then. I mean, is anyone really scared of vampires? Well, I might be, after watching this movie.

Eli is disturbing on multiple levels, many of which aren’t explicitly explored in the film itself, but rather come to mind after the credits roll. Eli’s physical appearance when she’s in “vampire mode,” which I think they achieved by using body doubles and practical effects combined with VFX, were really unsettling and original; this movie’s version of vampires is decidedly animalistic and gross, not smooth and sexy. The movie isn’t just scary, though. The story is engaging, surprising, tense, and genuinely heartfelt. Very glad I watched this after having it on my list for so long.

The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin McDonagh

Amazing.

Hilarious, sad, disturbing, and quietly devastating, The Banshees of Inisherin is even better than I expected. It’s a story about dissatisfaction, spite, and depression, told in a constantly entertaining and unique way. I would classify this movie as a comedy, but it’s much more than that. A lot of what makes this movie special comes down to the performances of Farrell and Gleeson, who are both as fantastic as ever. Not too much more to say about this one. It’s just really good.