P.S. A Column On Things

Movie: Blink Twice*****

An entertaining look at toxic masculinity if such a thing is possible. Both comedy and tragedy in unequal measure.

This movie is too easy to spoil so technical notes only. Heartily recommended.

• It has a very satisfying  ending. 
• Just over 90 minutes. Good length.
• Women everywhere. Director and co-writer Zoë Kravitz. Definitely passed the Bechdel test. Lots of women who talk about things other than men.
• As I have said before, plays deal with issues and entertain, movies generally just entertain.  Blink Twice is an exception.

Humor: Scary Movie Remakes

Here is the July 18 Top5 List (https://www.top5list.com/top5-for-7-18-24/).

My winner:

* Dr. Lecter’s Missing Hearts Club Band

My losers:

* Dead Side Story

* A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The House on Elm Street

Fabulous Four ****

Written by women, directed by women, only 90 minutes long (minus credits)! I love it when women of a certain age get their own movie, where the men are, for the most part, accessories. This film meets the Bechdel test 100%: women talking to each other about something besides men. Lifelong friendship is explored. And the move is hysterical; I didn’t know Susan Sarandon or Sissy Spacek had it in them; I knew Bette Midler did.

Deadpool and Wolverine ******

I am not much for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though I camped outside Beaumont Pharmacy every Thursday until I owned the first 100 issues of the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Avengers and so on... 60 years ago. (All destroyed in a basement flood while I was away at MIT). I've seen a few MCU movies, but I'm far from a completist. And so it is that I gingerly bestow six stars.

I have tried to learn over the years not to review a film's budget, but I have rarely had occasion to try to avoid reviewing a film's box office. If you're alive and alert you know the basket of records this film has already broken.

I did see and enjoy the previous Deadpool movie. This one is bigger, louder and more impressive. If, like me, you're not great on the whole pantheon, sit next to an MCU expert, who can help you understand the more obscure inside references and the more obscure cameos. Of course, you don't need to know much to laugh at a Deadpool line, aimed at a fellow superhero, whom he refers to as "Mr. PG-13," in comparison to Deadpool's R rating.

In short: Run don’t walk to see Deadpool and Wolverine. Hysterically funny, unbelievably foul-mouthed, ultra violent, exploding heads. A laugh riot. And a 100 Deadpools from throughout the multiverse.

Daddio *****

The movie Daddio is an artistic and technical marvel, and to top it off it is only 1:41 long. Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson (Don's little girl) spend all but five minutes of the film talking to each other as Penn drives a taxi from JFK to Manhattan. Spoiler alert: yes, it doesn't take 90 minutes for that drive. They are delayed by an accident on the way in.

Genius is not too strong a word for writer/director Christy Hall. They talk of cabbages and kings and life, and make it all fascinating. Well worth your time and money.

The Idea Of You *****

Ann Hathaway. Need I say more? An older woman and a younger man fall in love with each other. Not a romcom because they kiss and have sex early. More a parable of the price of fame, and a story that holds out hope for May/December relationships.

It reminded me of other “Fame is a bitch” movies. I found a partial list on Screen Rant. Dream Scenario was the most recent and blatant, but other films that sip from the poisoned chalice of fame include: Blonde (2022), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Birdman (2014) and A Star Is Born (2018).

 Now these would comprise one hell of a binge watch. I’ve seen them all (just not at once) and they didn’t dampen my desire for fame (I am better than all these characters), but they might have that effect on someone who is less ceaselessly self-promotional.

1500 movies later

After watching about 1,500 movies in my life – about half of which I reviewed in public – I was moved by classical music critic Joshua Kossman‘s farewell column in the San Francisco Chronicle, in which he says it’s just talking if you say whether or not you like a work of art; it is reviewing when you say why.

 One of the things I’ve struggled with for 55 years is the fact that I always know how the movie made me feel, but often don’t know why. I have the same problem in my book reviews. Why is one great and another just adequate? Like Justice Potter, I know it when I see it even if I can’t define it. Which means that at best I’m a three star reviewer. Or, for Chronicle readers, the little man is sitting in his chair.

Manhunt 1/ At The Deathbed: Cleaned Up Quotes

I was put in mind of this by Apple TV’s Manhunt: The Search for John Wilkes Booth, about the search for Lincoln’s assassin.

In the room where it happened (apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda), “it” being Lincoln’s death a few hours after Booth shot him.

Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton quotes himself, “Now he belongs to the ages.” As a memoirist, I am well aware that dialog sizzles, prose fizzles. Most likely, Stanton suffered from L'esprit d'escalier as he left, wishing he’d been more eloquent.

If I were a betting man, I’d bet that, more likely, he said something like “Oh hell, Abe’s dead. Passed on. Gone to meet his maker.” I can’t find the quotes attributed to the others in the room that night, but ditto.

Much Ado Updated: Anyone But You

Anyone But You is a rom-com on Netflix which ticks all the boxes. From hate to love. Interfering parents. “Helpful” friends. When I Googled it for running time (103 minutes, only 13 too long) I discovered it is based on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing with Bea based on Beatrice and Ben based on Benedick.

I suspect the Shakespeare expert in my family would have noticed immediately. A little too much sex for my taste, which is why it is rated R instead of PG-13. Well, that, and the frequent references by himself and others to the fact that Ben is a Fuckboy.

Review: Upgraded ****

The Amazon movie Upgraded is a cross between The Devil Wears Prada, and any rom-com where the kiss comes near the beginning rather than the last scene. I found it hysterical―the villains were so cartoonishly villainous.  It left Vicki cold, however. Some of the plot twists were a bit much, but as Vicki noted, “It’s not a documentary.” Was that really a swan?