This item appeared on my browsing scroll a few nights ago. My watch partner uncharacteristically blurted out “I want to see that!” I was aware that she’s had a curiosity about the nomad genre of videos on YouTube, where she frequently watches the Van Life vlog “Babba Shota”, as well as all of the Bob Wells videos. I was not aware that she was looking forward to the release of this movie.
Frances McDormand as Fern
This movie plays somewhat like a dramatization. But it is deeply authentic as it includes so many of the real faces of the North American “vandweller” community. This movie provides a platform for authentic, committed, vandwellers to express their views about why they chose, and how they embrace, the Van Life lifestyle.
The vandwellers enjoy a sense of freedom, independence, and autonomy which is so characteristic of the American spirt. In so many respects they are truly living the American dream in it’s truest most visceral sense. But it comes with a flip side. Independence can also feel like solitude and vulnerability. This story highlights the fact that true independence doesn’t exist as everyone needs to reach out for a helping hand at some point. This is why the vandwellers recognize themselves as members of a community who gather to support each other.
As the story of Fern plays out, you can see her experience the struggles and joys of the Van Life. In her story, Fern shows us how being “houseless” is not the same as being “homeless.” Fern chose to turn her back on the seclusion and baggage of house life to be a part of the Van Life community.
My watching partner chose this one. The trailer featured an older gentleman with exceedingly good manners followed by the next scene with a teenager referring to him as a lunatic. She said, “I want to see this.”
Lori Katz as Kate Hunt & David Raizor as Howard Cross
Kate is a single woman on a mission to flip a house. It just needs one thing before she can get it listed; a new deck.
To get the job done Kate hires Mr. Cross, a local handyman, to build her new deck. As Kate gets to know Mr. Cross, he reveals himself to be a hard working, good humored, craftsman of exceptional skill. He is also exceedingly friendly, and polite to a fault.
However, Kate unexpectedly needs to leave town for a week. When she returns she finds that Mr. Cross has taken up residence in her house. And he won’t leave! From here Kate’s nightmare begins.
The writing, acting, and technical production value are all top notch. I recommend you check this one out.
The trailer seemed curious. It was a man, middle age-ish, on a road trip with a sexy young woman. Is that a daughter, niece, or girlfriend? When my watching partner gave it the nod I hit play. I really didn’t know what I was in for.
Ben Mendelsohn as Ned, Maeve Dermody as Toni
Ned is returning to his childhood home, a family farm in the Australian outback. He was summoned by his sister, whom he hasn’t seen since he was a teenager, when he left under mysterious circumstances. Their father is dying.
The house is haunted by the memories and the secrets. Where are the other brother and the other sister? His relationship with his father is hostile and twisted up in resentment and bitterness. There is some unspoken blame about the night the other brother and sister were killed. If you’re amused by dysfunctional family dynamics then this film offers a taste of comedy gold.
But the heart of this story is about guilt, shame, and the burden of running from them.
All of the production technicals, in terms of lighting, cinematography, wardrobe, and the like, were done well enough that I never thought about it while I was watching.
I’d probably watch anything with Willem Dafoe in it. However, I probably would not watch a film about the life of Vincent van Gogh. But when I saw that Willem took this role, I decided it was worthy of a mental note — I’ll watch this some day!
That some day was yesterday.
Willem Dafoe as Vincent van Gogh
My feelings about Van Gogh are generally not very positive. Based on the anecdotes from my high school art education, and passing mentions of him in various other bits of information that I’ve been exposed to, Van Gogh was a weirdo that was likely suffering from the affects of lead poisoning as a consequence of the practice of mixing oil paints in his mouth. It’s no wonder that he was in and out of mental institutions and prone to doing bizarre things, such as cutting off his ear as a gift to a prostitute.
I have to say that Willem’s portrayal gives Van Gogh some depth and relatability that I didn’t expect. It might be a mistake to just accept this movie as a documentary. However, in my opinion, it is a mistake that this film did not include anything about lead poisoning, which is very likely a real part of the story that could explain some of Van Gogh’s odd behavior. Naturally, I was watching for the gore after the ear cutting scene. Instead, I caught glimpses of an unharmed ear on Dafoe’s head. I’m not sure if this technical shortcoming spoils the the suspension of belief anymore than a well done severed ear makeup job, which I was eagerly awaiting. Also in the category of technical criticism, I am a little put off by movies where all the characters speak fluent English, when they are clearly portrayals of characters that never spoke English. (Van Gogh was known to have spoken English. But it was unlikely he spoke English to everyone he interacted with while living in France.)
Despite my technical complainery, it is a believable and interesting portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh.
This movie tells a story about an artist who feels driven to paint, and do nothing else even if it means a life lived in poverty, as an outcast. Van Gogh felt compelled to capture images that had not been captured before. He wanted to highlight the beauty in forms that are generally ignored. He was compelled to capture images as fast as he could get the paint onto the canvas. These features became the foundation of his unique style, which many people of his time regarded as just plain ugly and absurd.
At one point in the movie Van Gogh is questioned about having given his severed ear to a prostitute, and Van Gogh simply replies “Gabby is not a prostitute.” I think this moment captures the full essence of the story. Van Gogh was not a madman any more than his friend at the tavern was a prostitute. Today we might think an artist finding the beauty in the mundane is a normal part of art. But there was a time this seemed ridiculous.
Whether your a fan of Van Gogh, a fan of Dafoe, or perhaps just a fan of the strange, this is a movie for you. Check it out.
I skimmed the trailer and made sure I got my watching partner’s thumbs up. There were elements of some supernatural, and some elements of American racism. I was kind of expecting a horror suspense flick. But I wasn’t sure, really.
Allison Pill as Elizabeth “Betty” Wendell and Deborah Ayorinde as Livia “Lucky” Emory
After a few episodes it was clear that I was watching something unlike anything else. There have been many productions that tell the story of racism in America. But this is done in a truly new way. The supernatural elements, that make the trailer seem like it might be a horror flick, are actually used in a very unusual way. The ghosts, and the elements that haunt the characters, are the specters of PTSD presented to the viewer in ways that deliver the raw emotions they way they should be experienced. This unique style and aesthetic are very effective in bringing these stories to life in a new way.
I am honestly blown away.
The performance that Allison Pill delivers as the evil cliche of a suburban white housewife Betty, is chilling. Given how toxic this character is, I imagine an actress might hesitate to take this role. But she plays this character with true gusto, in a way that is authentic and credible. Bravo Allison.
Deborah Ayorinde is no less courageous in her portrayal of “Lucky” Emory. This character is deeply traumatized in a brutal racist attack, and is haunted from then on by visions that are difficult to differentiate from what is real. Hey, go to California where everything is better! However, this story illustrates that the things that haunt you will inhabit you, wherever you are.
I don’t just recommend this series. I urge you to check “Them” out. This series is excellent.
We stumbled on the trailer for this movie while browsing Prime video the other night. We were intrigued by the dark and mysterious ambiance of it. It seems tacky to say it, but seeing Dustin Hoffman’s face elevated the perceived production value. We decided to check it out.
For awhile it seems like you’re watching two different movies. One one hand you’re watching a foreign film, an Italian thriller, about a private investigator who has a serious heart condition, and he’s on the final case of his life. Simultaneously, you’re watching a domestic film about an investigator debriefing a kidnapping victim. All the while you’re laboring to connect the dots, wondering how is this victim related to the case in Italy?
As you think the pieces are coming together, you might ask, “Wait, why his he discarding an important lead?” Or you might be asking yourself, “Wait, wasn’t that character dead?”
By the time the story comes to its conclusion you might even be asking, “That’s the ending?”
The acting, the cinematography, and the overall production value for this film are top notch. But honestly, it took me about thirty minutes to realize that this movie is also brilliantly written, and I might need to watch it again.
Bliss is a new film that I stumbled across as I was browsing the “Free for You” category on Prime Video. I allowed the trailer to play, and lacking an immediate thumbs down from my watching partner, I let it play. I don’t care for trailers that give away the whole story, that leave watching the movie just an exercise in filling the gaps. That wasn’t the case here. I was expecting something a little off the beaten path, with some gritty scenes, and then some that seem other-worldly. It was enough to engage my curiosity.
This stars Selma Hayek as Isabel Clemens and Owen Wilson as Greg Wittle.
During the opening scenes, with Greg failing at his customer service job, it was comedy. But then it started getting dark, and very strange by the time the Isabel character was in play. Isabel starts referring to some people as real and others as fake. She is also able to demonstrate some kind of telekinetic ability which is given to her by consuming a mysterious yellow crystal.
I was developing a sinking feeling that this was turning out to be a rip-off of The Matrix. But that feeling faded as it was apparent the telekinetic abilities were somewhat trivial and gave them no power to prevent themselves from ending up at the mercy of the Police. These characters were turning out to be real dirt bags!
Half way into the film I started to feel like I understood the twist. It’s a good one. The true meaning of it all unravels slowly and the ending is satisfying and meaningful.
I really liked it. Why don’t you go check it out yourself.
The year 2016 came and this ordinary looking film appeared, and then the year passed. Several years passed, actually. In none of the years going by did this film catch my attention.
Last night was the exception. I was scanning the selection on Amazon Prime trying to find something that would have some appeal, and most importantly, not be immediately rejected by my watching partner / spouse. The trailer struck my curiosity because it appeared to be dull, on purpose.
It’s a story about a man, satisfied in his career as an anonymous bus driver who spends his free time writing odd poetry, that apparently, he has no ambition to ever share. His wife stays at home making cupcakes and painting things, such as the drapes, the carpet, and her clothes. She’s an optimist dreamer that entertains hopes of being a country music star, as soon as she learns to play her new mail-order guitar.
Everything is very real, complete with dust, shabby grass, moles, graffiti, and a lingering sense that something is due to happen. Some things do happen, some frightening and some disappointing.
Before the movie was over I came to the realization that this is a story about seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. As the closing scene ended I felt very satisfied with my realization.
Seeing Fantastic Planet at the drive-in is one of my earliest memories. Although the memories are not very clear, I think I may have hounded my parents to take me to see it again. Whether or not that hounding paid off is unclear. But I did go to the drive-in again, with a family friend, his wife, and their baby. (He made his wife and baby hide in the trunk of the car so that he only had to pay for me and himself on admission.)
This is a story about human beings living as pet “Oms” among a world of blue giants, the Draags, on the planet Ygam. It is a psychedelic trip to an alternate reality where the human experience is that of being a plaything of children, or worse, a pest to be exterminated.
But the feral Oms unite and organize. Through the use of education and the pursuit of technology they find their salvation. I wonder if this theme influenced my young mind in such a way, that to this day, I now believe that education and technology are the keys to confronting the challenges that face humanity now.
Reusable rockets with propulsive landing capability was pure science fiction in 1973.
It was a pleasure to rewatch this today. I am so drawn in with this film’s unique graphic style, and trance like pace.
The most recent Star Trek Discovery series has been very entertaining, with a major aesthetic reboot of the pre-TOS era, and a dizzying blast of relentless fast paced action and non stop twists. I suppose it’s somewhat of a masterpiece of its kind. I liked it. But I can’t shake this nagging feeling, that for as much as it has added to the franchise, I have a sense that something is missing.
Today I thought I’d revisit a memorable episode of TOS to refresh my sense of the Trek that I knew as a kid.
This image of Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell, after the “ESPer” transformation begins to take ahold of him, is burned into my memory since the first time I saw it back in the early seventies. Mitchell has become a deeply ominous threat who sees you from afar with those eyes.
I remember this episode being thick with tension, and floating by at a dreamlike pace.
Watching with a fresh eye today, I notice many things about it that I don’t remember at all. For example, there was an awkward scene, near the beginning, where all of the department heads are standing in a group at the rear of the bridge to personally report the status of Engineering, Medical, Security, and the other departments. Long after making their verbal status reports they continued to stand there, in an awkward group at the rear of the bridge, as the story was playing out. It was also weird that Spock was shouting out status updates as he monitored the instruments, as if he was shouting above the noise which wasn’t there. It also bothered me that this distress beacon that they beamed aboard contained data that only Spock could extract, audibly with an earpiece, which was apparently too garbled to be very informative. By the way, what kind of Captain orders a probe beamed aboard without first thoroughly verifying what it is and being completely certain that it is harmless?
A lot of things were awkward because this was only the third episode of the first season. Spock was a little weird because Leonard Nimoy was still finding his way with this role. Some of the sets and props were unfamiliar, as they would be refined in later seasons. I have to admit, to be honest, this production is not the surreal, mesmerizing, piece that I remember it to be.
Considering my lasting impression of TOS Trek, and using that as a point of reference for evaluating DISCO Trek, I think this sheds some light on the disconnect. What I might believe the old TOS tradition to be — ethereal and dreamlike — is not how the current generation of writers and producers view it. They may be looking at TOS with the “fresh eye” of the present, lacking the lasting childhood impression, and coming to the logical conclusion that there is very little to be salvaged!
Despite all of the shortcomings of TOS, I still find the all seeing eyes of Gary Mitchell to be very haunting. And it was a pleasure to rediscover it on Amazon Prime Video. The digitally remastered version is very impressive. The richness and clarity of the detail, and the improved CGI space scenes, almost make TOS new again. I’m looking forward to going back to rediscover some other old favorites like “The Man Trap”, “Charlie X”, and perhaps even all of the rest.
