Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Emily the Criminal -

This is a strongly acted crime thriller that has its finger firmly planted on the pulse of the American Millennial. Like many of them, Emily (Aubrey Plaza), a former art student, has piles of student loan debt and is underemployed. To make matters worse, she has a few minor convictions on her record. Out of desperation, she follows a lead from a co-worker to make extra cash by purchasing high-ticket items with stolen credit cards. For better or worse, she ends up being really good at it.

Like she does in Ingrid Goes West, Plaza continues to prove she can carry a movie on her own. She especially does this in two job interview scenes for how her responses to the condescending and deceptive hiring managers‘ questions and conditions nail what too many others in her shoes would like to say. There's also her subtle transition from aspiring artist to her titular description such as how her catering job becomes more of a formality and how her remaining legitimate friendship with old classmate Liz (Megalyn Echikunwoke) becomes more strained. On par with Plaza is Theo Rossi, who plays Youcef, the manager of this illegal venture who succeeds in always making you wonder about his true intentions as he becomes more interested in Emily's abilities. If the description of her new job makes you question if this is really a thriller, don't worry: some of her transactions don't go according to plan and the results put me on edge, especially one involving a car. The handheld cinematography and use of real locations adds to the tension and spontaneity in moments like this one, which made me recall how the similar Before the Devil Knows Your Dead does these things. It ends up being an exciting and thought-provoking thriller that not only boldly questions if Millennials will only be successful via illegal means, but also if that's the fate of subsequent generations.

Woman of the Year, 1942

Tess (Katharine Hepburn) is a jet-setting international reporter involved in a range of activities from refugee support to women's rights to the war effort. Sam (Spencer Tracy) is a sports reporter at the same magazine. After a short war of words---kicked off when Tess makes an offhand suggestion about getting rid of baseball to put more focus on the war--Tess and Sam engage in a whirlwind courtship and get married. But things at home become tense as Sam constantly feels like second fiddle and Tess can't figure out how to balance her work life and her home life.

Can the modern woman have it all?

This film was certainly interesting to watch, as it takes the very familiar premise of a relationship where one person is totally bound up in their job and takes a lateral step by having the work-crazed partner be the wife and the neglected, unappreciated party the husband.

Much like Adam's Rib this one started out very promising, coasting on the easy chemistry between Hepburn and Tracy. But fundamentally the movie suffers from a lack of balance in the way that it treats its two main characters.

Maybe the most startling contrast comes in the first half. Consider that Tess wasn't excited about baseball. She then accepts Sam's invitation to watch a game, expressed curiosity and interest, and genuinely engages with what is happening. Now compare that to what happens when a friend of Tess escapes a concentration camp and arrives at her apartment. Yes, it's Tess and Sam's wedding night and he's frustrated at the intrusion. But again: THIS MAN JUST ESCAPED A CONCENTRATION CAMP! Sam never shows interest in Tess's work, just annoyance when it pulls her attention away from him.

Tess is certainly not without her major flaws. She is used to living her life totally on her own terms and without having to consider the feelings or convenience of others. She also can be very impulsive, and maybe the worst thing she does is to adopt a child refugee who she has no real interest or time for. She does this without even consulting Sam, and it's gross behavior all around.

But it's also hard to feel for Sam, because while the film wants to be clever in gender flipping their dynamic, Sam is no housewife. He has his own job. He has his own friends. He has his own apartment. He endures Tess's lifestyle, but we never see him overtly supporting her or showing pride in her accomplishments. I think we see him cook some eggs one time.

And most frustratingly, he refuses to talk things out and just sulks or withdraws his attention and affection. And for me a problem was the way that his notion of his wife as a partner and her womanhood were so bound up in one another. He's not just mad that he's not an equal, he's mad that she's not playing her womanly role. I thought that his barb at her---"The woman of the year isn't really a woman"--was just plain nasty. It makes you wonder what he thought marriage to her would be like.

What I found most annoying about this movie was the way that it constantly refuses to define what a good version of this marriage would be. Tess has an aha moment about obeying her husband (barf) and offers to quit her job. Sam says he doesn't want her to totally give up her job and identity, but what does he want? Sam spends so much of the film heroically avoiding having an open, honest conversation with his wife, that I didn't even know what he wanted.

I think that there are some people in the world who just aren't suited for marriage, or for whom the passion they have for their work means that marriage will really only work if they have a spouse who is at peace with lots of time apart. I have a friend who field manages hospitals for DWB, and she is often away from home for months at a time. Her marriage works, but mainly because her husband isn't expecting dinner on the table every night. Likewise there are countless women (and men) who have spouses in the military who must cope with that kind of time apart. Sam is nice and all, but the absolutely joy and spark we see from Tess when she's working is really special. Of course the film could never conclude with Tess realizing she loves work more than marriage. But honestly: His Girl Friday managed to pull off something similar.

Frustrating characters and some entrenched *~*era appropriate*~* sexism made this one less enjoyable than I'd hoped for.

Yeah Emily the Criminal was excellent. I had kind of the opposite reaction to Torgo however in thinking it would be an unrelenting thriller when it felt more like a handful of tense scenes in what was otherwise a drama.

But I’m a big big fan of Aubrey Plaza and I love that she’s been starring in these lower budget thriller and/or dark comedies like Black Bear and Ingrid Goes West. It feels like she’s taking roles that she’s genuinely interested in or movies she’s passionate about making.

I probably oversold it as a thriller in my writeup. Like you said, it's more like a crime drama with thriller elements. But yeah, Plaza is making great career choices in the last few years. I'm also eager to see Black Bear and The Little Hours.

Emily the Criminal is on Netflix, by the way.

So glad to hear that someone else liked Emily the Criminal....my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/...-criminal.html

You don't notice what you weren't noticing until you do, I suppose.


Tips hat.

Aftersun (2022, Charlotte Wells)

Kind of a similar vibe to Celine Sciamma's Petite Maman, but, unlike the latter film, this one takes a look at a father-daughter relationship, with Welles exploring the themes of memory, loss, regret, and depression with beautiful delicacy and maturity.

I thought it was equally brilliant—understated but nuanced and quietly devastating. Loved the cinematography, the use of video recorder handheld camera work was very effective. Excellent performances from both Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio. Great debut from Charlotte Wells.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)


Still my favorite Will Ferrell movie. Nearly a perfect movie in my eyes once you buy into the premise.

One of my real life friends said similar stuff, was blown away by this film. I was a big fan of Petite Maman too, I can't wait for this.

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Nice review. You liked it a hair more than I did. Here's my commentary:

The Awful Truth, 1937

Jerry (Cary Grant) and Lucy (Irene Dunne) are a married couple who decide to divorce after Lucy realizes Jerry faked an out-of-town trip and Jerry begins to suspect that Lucy is having a fling with her handsome vocal coach, Armand (Alexander D'Arcy). After the two split, Lucy takes up with the kind-but-bland Dan (Ralph Bellamy), while Jerry eventually pairs up with socialite Barbara (Molly Lamont). At the same time, each still harbors fond feelings for the other.

Coming off of two classic comedies about rifts in marriages, it was refreshing to watch one where the relationship was contentious without ever getting mean-spirited. Overall I found this film very charming, with a good mix of banter and physical gags.

The entire film has a kind of ease to it---reminiscent of something like The Thin Man--largely driven by the energy and chemistry of Grant and Dunne. Through the entire film, you can tell that they are a good fit for one another. The movie see-saws between the two of them helping or sabotaging the new relationships of the other, and sometimes just plain sabotaging themselves.

The film was apparently shot with a lot of improvisation. I think that it's a tribute to the director and actors that there doesn't feel like a huge gap between the more improvised sequences and the scripted lines. My favorite line was probably when Armand and Jerry find themselves hiding in Lucy's guest bedroom, only to burst out and flee the apartment in a frenzy. As Dan and his mother look on in amazement, Lucy's even-keeled Aunt Patsy calmly observes, "They didn't touch second."

There are some solid physical gags, as well, maybe the highlight being Jerry thinking that he's going to catch Lucy and Armand in a compromising position, only to burst in on a recital in which Lucy is performing. Sitting sheepishly in the back of the room, he manages to upturn a table and chair, loudly wrestling with the table. Annoyed but mostly amused, Dunne lets a little laugh sneak into her singing, and it's a really cute and funny moment.

Really, this is a movie about two people falling back in love with each other. Dunne and Grant are very charming. I also like that the movie wasn't too harsh on their new romances. There's a bit poking of fun, such as when Jerry flirts with singer/dancer Dixie Belle Lee (Joyce Compton), only to discover in front of Lucy, that her performance is a bit on the saucy side. "Well," Lucy remarks afterward, "I guess it's easier for her to change her name than for her whole family to change theirs."

My only annoyance (and I realize that it's accurate to the time) was the way that Lucy gets basically all of the gossip. Jerry is the one who actually lied about something! And other people know that he lied! But it's Lucy---who didn't lie about anything--who has her name slandered and Jerry just sort of lets it happen. It's frustrating, because you can see on her face in their first scene together that she's not embarrassed or caught out when he arrives home unexpectedly. Not a big issue with the film, just a dated element.

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15891972

Serpico - (1973)

Serpico goes in deep and does more than just follow Frank Serpico around taking note of his insistence on doing police work the right way - it shows us how a person can get unwittingly drawn into being a crusader or whistleblower, almost against their will. It expertly shows us the slow change his character undergoes over the years, and really makes us feel his tension and fear. Al Pacino, with one of his best ever performances, helps with all of that - but you can't deny the work of one of the all time greats, screenwriter Waldo Salt in adapting the nonfiction book by Peter Maas. When he starts his career as a police officer, Serpico is willing to turn a blind eye to corruption - and just wants to do his job, but he's continually pushed into "proving" himself - and when he starts to want to affect change, he's stymied by a system that seems to be set up to encourage corruption. His frustration begins to build, and with it the fear of reprisal - since all of his fellow officers hate him enough to kill him themselves - this takes it's toll on his relationship and life in general.

These days there are new laws, so cops no longer need to be on the take - they can take money from any citizen they deem "suspicious" legally, and keep it. The world I live in seems to be bending all the laws in favour of being easily corrupted - and if anybody says anything they're branded "socialist" or "ignorant" - isolated, mocked and always with no hope of influencing law-making, for they can offer no money to politicians. A form of corruption in itself called "lobbying". Serpico shows us cops who hate the corruption, but go along with it because they feel they have no choice - that affecting change is impossible because of the odds stacked against them. It shows us politicians who become paralyzed because they need the police on their side. But it also shows us that one incorruptible man alone can make a difference - so just imagine what a group could do. Great screenplay and performance by Pacino - and a great movie. My first time seeing it.

8/10

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Finally!
I been waiting for someone around here to see this and tell me about it.

It is definitely a movie of its time. But those inequities of power are still being played out in the world. At least they are recognized with in the screenplay if not by the main male character.
It wasn't until the 70's that women who committed domestic violence were seen with any sympathy in film. I am thinking of the Burning Bed with Farrah Fawcett. Where we are given a sympathetic look at a woman who kills her husband in a grisly way after a marriage full of domestic violence.
But still women do not get a fair shake in court at least according to a documentary I saw recently, State of Alabama vs Brittany Smith in which a woman who was raped and kidnapped shot her rapist and went to jail for his murder. She used the stand your ground law as her defense, as this occurred in her home. Many men have killed with less egregious offenses against them but have walked free.

Sexism is here now, I am not surprised to find it in an old movie. Still that doesn't diminish ones sensitivity to it. And i can see how this would ruin the comedic aspect for you.

Maybe?

I felt like the movie was ultimately on his side, despite the terrible thing he did to her. And in that moment, we are meant (via a close-up of dawning realization on her face) to infer that she is also coming around to his side.

That maybe. Sexism and all the other toxic isms are difficult to fully wean your self from. Especially when very little is in the culture for you to grab a hold on. Young women are always accusing me by saying "the misogyny is coming from inside the house" when I disagree with them about things. Maybe they are right.

It was interesting watching the two Tracy/Hepburn films back to back, because in both cases her character was so much more interesting than his, so much more vibrant, and so much more passionate. And yet both of them had to do little plot contortions to get to a place where she's ultimately put in her place.

Apparently the sequence in the end of Woman of the Year where Tess is humiliated by her inability to make breakfast was added to the film because people wanted to see her character taken down a peg. (Do I believe she couldn't make waffles? Sure. Do I believe that a woman who travels internationally and works at a newspaper doesn't know how to brew coffee? I do not.)

'Bones and All' (2022)



Hmm, this film is fine, just fine - difficult to write about spoiler free. It's an enjoyable romantic journey with the first half being a sort of Badlands meets American Honey vibe via the American Midwest. It's a road trip coming of age film with one additional element - the horror. Which is fine but I just didn't connect with that element.

I left the film thinking is that horror a metaphor for the barrier that these people face? I.e. - being on the margins of society, outcasts trying to find their own way in the world? This burden that they have to live with daily because of who they are? Or is it not a metaphor and it's just slotted right into the film for the ride. I still don't know. So it maybe just a fault of my film viewing style but I much preferred director Luca Gudagnino's 'Call me by your Name'.

Timothy Chalamet (Lee) and Taylor Russell (Maren) are worthy of praise but Mark Rylance (Sully) steals the show as the creepy stalker type trying to track down Maren. Great score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross too. But that horror element - I have no idea.

6.9/10

This is actually my favorite romantic comedy of the black and white era (if you will).
Grant is at his absolute best and Dunne is, to me, one of the best in the game at comedic timing without being full-on Hepburn. The physical gags are great, particularly Grant's willingness to go full slapstick but bringing his natural physicality and personal charm to it it almost doesn't feel like slapstick (I'm particularly thinking of her recital) but the dialogue is so snappy. Yup, my favorite.

Yeah, I used to rent these, uhh, not for the plot.

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