Here are some two sentence reviews of the movies I watched in September.
Stats
- Movies watched – 7
- Movies that were new to me – 3
- Masterpieces I didn’t *love* love – 2
- Monthly Masterpieces – In the Realm of the Senses
September 30
- Monster High: Boo York, Boo York (2015) – The script takes quite a while to find its footing with all the plot machinations and requisite introductions of the new Monster High merchandise. However, once it finally gets all its pieces in order, it moves along pretty well, and the songs are actually pretty good for C-level pop clones.
September 29
- No One Knows About Persian Cats (2009) – Heavy-handed look at “underground” music in Iran. While the subject matter is legitimately interesting, for the most part, neither the filmmaking nor the music is quite up to the reverent tone of the film.
September 28
- Two days, One Night (2014) – Simply structured, but the script manages to shake up the repetition in a way that never makes it feel too repetitive. Cotillard proves yet again that she is far more than just a pretty face in this rather bleak tale of financial desperation.
September 22
- Paths of Glory (1957) – Kubrick just as assured as ever in his second-ish film, and also just as cold as ever. A few thrilling battle segments aside, this is really just a courtroom drama, and one hell of a cynical one at that.
September 15
- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) – Somehow this film works as serious entertainment despite being full of comedy that never manages to undercut the heavy themes. Indebted to better films like Le Samourai, but in the best way possible–and the soundtrack kicks ass too.
September 3
- In the Realm of the Senses (1976) – An erotica film that, against all odds, succeeds both as a master class in filmmaking and as actual erotica. Extra points for finding actors willing to fuck on camera that also actually know how to act.
September 1
- Badlands (1973) – One of the more masterful debuts on record–a complex film with real poetry in it. I just never liked these “crime spree” movies with protagonists that are just too dumb/far-gone to really give a shit about.
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