Friday, November 24, 2017

The Death of Louis XIV (Albert Serra, 2016) -- 2/5
This is the kind of film that would be little harmed if most of its scenes were reshuffled in random order. I felt like I was staring at studies of the same (albeit gorgeous) Renaissance painting for 2 hours. Eschewing narrative is fine, but SOME dynamism should take its place. This is the wrong medium for stasis. Only watch if you're a Jean-Pierre Leaud completist! 

The Blackcoat's Daughter (Oz Perkins, 2017) -- 3/5
Or: The Consequences of Having Don Draper as Your Father 

It Comes At Night (Trey Edwards Schults, 2017) -- 2.5/5
Underwhelming "artsy" "horror" film. Very little here that actually deviates from the survivalist template. 

A Ghost Story (David Lowery, 2017) -- 3/5
Liked the idea of a silent ghost as the protagonist; liked the representation of said ghost as a sheet with two eyeholes. What I didn't get was the central relationship. We just see so little of the husband and wife together prior to the car accident that their mourning across separate planes of existence functions purely on an abstract level. 

mother! (Darren Aronofsky, 2017) -- 3/5
Just like the sink, I was NOT braced. 

The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000) -- 3/5
Southern Gothic supernatural thriller with a STACKED cast. (Cate Blanchett, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, J.K. Simmons, Giovanni Ribisi.) Atmospheric with eerie frames a'plenty.

William Gibson: No Maps for These Territories (Mark Neele, 2000) -- 1/5
Superficial interview in the backseat of a car about nothing 

The Beguiled (Don Siegel, 1971) -- 3/5
Discomforting stuff. I, too, have no interest in seeing the re-make. I also just don't care for the basic premise. (Yes, it's a man being objectified for once, but only in the service of depicting women as sex-starved maniacs.)  

Aimee and Jaguar (Max Faberbock, 1998) -- 2/5
Based on a true story about a love affair between two women (one a Good German, the other a Jew) amidst WWII. Sorry, but there's just no competing against Carol or Blue is the Warmest Color, or the Willow/Tara relationship on Buffy

Better Than Chocolate (Anne Wheeler, 1999)  --1/5
See above. 

Southside With You (Richard Tanne, 2016) -- 1/5
Before Sunrise 
Before Sunset
Before White House

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