Last week was the final week of the St. Louis International Film
Festival, so I took advantage in seeing four more films—bringing my total that
I saw this year at nine films, a new record for me. Other than that, I’m blaming my reading slump
on the presidential election results; I haven’t been able to concentrate on
reading much since then, and the books I had to read were a graphic novel and a
stage play.
Here’s what I read and watched last week:
Books
If I Stay by Gayle
Forman: C+. I listened to this on
audiobook, otherwise I’d probably still be reading it. I enjoyed the premise and setup to the novel,
but unfortunately the novel gets repetitive and cumbersome while stuck in the
narrator’s headspace.
Doug the Pug: King of Pop Culture by Leslie
Mosier: I’m not giving this a letter
grade. I explained why in my review.
Movies
Arrival: B-. Amy Adams is terrific in the lead role, and
the visual effects are stunning. My
quips with the film lie in the script:
the plot contrivances that lead to the main character’s involvement felt
silly, and the plot twist didn’t work as well for me as the director
intended.
Toni Erdmann: A. I desperately needed a laugh following the
election results, and this film didn’t disappoint. Toni Erdmann is able to handle broad,
sophomoric humor and familial drama without coming off as overwrought and
saturated in sentimentality. This is my
new favorite film of the year.
Long Live Death: C+. Fans of Dexter
will appreciate the premise, but the cat and mouse serial killer film felt a
little too by-the-numbers for me.
The Red Turtle: B. I avoided advanced knowledge of the film, so
I wasn’t aware that it was without dialogue (barring some exclamations
throughout). The animation was terrific,
and the film progresses well even without much plot.
Jackie: B-. Natalie Portman’s much anticipated
performance doesn’t disappoint. I had a
slight problem with her accent in the opening scenes, but it quickly evened out
and felt appropriate. My main problem
with the film is in its structuring:
despite two framing devices, the film jumps from scene to scene with
reckless abandon, edited to the bone to play off Portman’s strengths. Also, the film suffers from ending fatigue,
which is ironic since the 100 minute Jackie
felt longer than the 163 minute Toni
Erdmann.
I’m hoping to get out of my slump this week—but then again, I’m already
at 81 books read for the year, so I can afford the break.
Books
Fences by August Wilson: For real this time. It’s due back at the library tomorrow, so I’ll
have to finish it tonight.
Egghead by Bo Burnham: Every now and then, I’ll decide it’s worth my
time to binge watch some Bo Burnham videos on YouTube. I wasn’t aware that Bo had published a book
of poetry a couple years ago…
Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them by J.K. Rowling (writing as "Newt Scamander"):
Maybe. The short story isn’t
actually required reading before watching the film, so I may skip it.
Movies
20th Century Women: Another advanced screening; one of these days
I’ll write a post about how easy it is to get invited to advanced screenings. I’m excited to get some of the likely Oscar
contenders out the way before December, that way I don’t have to rush and see
everything in January/February.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them: I’m cautiously
optimistic, considering the advanced notice from critics. At the very least, I’m hoping for something
better than The Cursed Child.
Loving: [insert what I said
seeing Oscar contenders before January here]
American Pastoral: This may or may not happen, if I have a couple
of hours this weekend. The trailer
excited me; the word of mouth made it obvious that this was a missable
film.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk: I was really rooting for this movie a couple
months ago! The studio all but trashed
it, halting its intended awards push when advanced word was that the film
sucked. I may hold off on this one for a
bit.
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