Election (2005, dir. Johnnie To). First watch. Tense. Kept waiting for
violence to break out and for the most part it didn't (except in I think
two places, one very significant). Was very invested in seeing Lok win
the election (and so I loved the ending, what a punch to the gut).
Watched on Tubi, who have the sequel also (under the name "Triad Election".
I think I'll watch that next.
Lake Mungo (2008, dir. Joel Anderson). First watch. Another movie I loved,
this has been a good month for movies. Loved the story, the performances,
the impressive sleight of hand the movie pulls. The two have different
aims, intentions, and methods but I was reminded of Twin Peaks (in no
small part because Lake Mungo is about a family last-name Palmer learning
about their deceased daughter). I'm currently resisting the urge to watch
it again but this time with my hand on the frame forward/back buttons.
Dead Presidents (1995, dir. The Hughes Brothers). First watch. I'd heard
off and on for years that this movie is great and I have to agree. It's
way more sprawling and tragic than I expected. Incredible cast and
performances (loved Keith David in particular). Something about it felt
kind of theatrical or stage-y to me, particularly the Vietnam scenes,
though I think it was intentional and served the purpose of the film.
Like a bad dream. I'm glad I finally watched it.
King Of New York (1990, dir. Abel Ferrara). First watch. Ah this was
excellent. Loved Walken and Laurence Fishburne here (I don't think
I've seen Fishburne play a character this way before, he was fantastic).
Loved the look of it, the way it moves, the economy of it, the ending.
I want to watch it again immediately.
Memorie Of Murder (2003, dir. Bong Joon-ho). Rewatch, second time I've
seen it. Funny, grim, was a bit heavier than I remembered. I've seen
it compared to Fincher's Zodiac a lot (and/or the other way around)
and I think that's apt. Beautifully filmed.
May
Exiled (2006, dir. Johnnie To). Holy shit this was incredible. An exiled
gangster and four hitmen (two there to protect the gangster, two there
to kill him but don't really want to) get involved in a mob/triad
conflict in Macau. It's hard to say more than that without spoiling.
Really melancholy and just doomed, heavy. This goes some unexpected
places (spaghetti western?). Looked and sounded fantastic. First reaction:
loved it, want to watch it again immediately.
Drug War (2012, dir. Johnnie To). Merciless. Tense and unrelenting. A
procedural that delivers on the title - a police captain and his team
apprehend a drug manufacturer and attempt to use him to catch dealers
and traffickers higher up the food chain. It goes poorly. There's
barely any downtime, it's deals and schemes and subterfuge for most of
the duration. When violence does eventually break out it's blunt,
horrifying. Reads as cynical in retrospect, there appear to be no heroes
here. Movie looked beautiful. I wish it lingered on some of these shots
longer. My first Johnnie To (and probably a bad place to start, but this
one was on Tubi with poorly timed subtitles). Reminded me of Michael Mann
a bit.
April
Fallout (TV, 8 episodes, 2024). Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I
would. It's much better written than I expected (better than many of
the games) and manages to be more than just nostalgia and references.
The show looks great, the FX and sets and prop work do a lot to sell the
world. The humor is on point and in general the show gets what's
entertaining about the Fallout games as a setting. A little weird that
this is on Amazon given how anti-corporate (or perhaps anti-establishment)
it is.
March
Midsomer Murders Season 8 (2005). "You're investigating a man's death
the least you can do is wear a tie." So... since around the second or
third season I've been quietly looking for non-white actors in this
show. There are very few (and even fewer have spoken lines). It turns
out that in 2011 the show's executive producer made some pretty
outrageous comments that may indicate he'd been excluding
ethnic minorities. That really, really sucks. I wasn't aware of
this going into the show and it has soured the experience. It isn't
until season 15 or so that the executive producer changes so I'm left
with a dilemma: do I want to continue watching this? Do I skip to
season 15? I'm not sure really. I've started season 9 and I suppose
I'll continue but I don't know for how long.
Midsomer Murders Season 7 (2004). A nice sendoff for DS Troy and a good
introduction to DS Scott. Strong episodes; funny. Watched over a few
weeks so I don't have many specific comments (aside of the final
episode of the season, which I just watched, which was charming &
reminded me of clue). Still enjoying the show and will continue
watching.
February
Midsomer Murders Seasons 5-6 (2002-2003). First appearance of a handgun
(I think). First explosion (definitely). I have the impression that
some of these were a little inconsistent but nonetheless there were
excellent episodes in here. Sergeant Troy seems more and more competent
and independent (which makes sense as I believe his run as a regular
character is coming to an end soon; he will be missed). And I'm happy
to see Cully again in season 6.
Midsomer Murders Season 4 (2000-2001). Some amusing episodes (the alien
episode felt particularly X-Files). The character dynamic felt a bit
different in this run. Cully was noticeably absent. It's still good
though, I mean I'm still enjoying it. It's a very particular fantasy
that I haven't worked out how to describe.
Midsomer Murders S01E02 thru the beginning of season 4. Well-made,
strangely comforting, gentle. These are all really nice looking so far,
well-shot. Pastoral. Lots of big manor houses. I like the pacing. I like
the mysteries more as a story than as a puzzle. I could listen to
John Nettles talk for hours. I'll definitely continue to watch these,
they're like popcorn.
January
Midsomer Murders: The Killings at Badger's Drift (1997). Charming! And
a fine mystery too. Will watch more of these, they're fun.
Dial M For Murder (1954), dir. Alfred Hitchcock; first-time watch.
A murder plot! And a darn good one too. I expect no less from Hitchcock.
Very nicely filmed and arranged. If I have any complaint it's that I wish
Grace Kelly had been given more to do. Loved how Mr. Wendice's conversation
with Swann is later sort-of echoed when Halliday explains his plan to Mr.
Wendice. Also: occasionally a very funny movie. Swann asking "Why are you
telling me all this?" got me good.
Knives Out (2019), dir. Rian Johnson. A lot of fun. Liked all of the
performances (loved seeing Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael
Shannon). I wish it were somehow both longer and shorter. It's over
2 hours; I was ready for it to be done at 100 minutes. At the same
time it felt rushed; I wish shots were held longer, so I could spend
more time looking at the individual images. I don't know, I guess that
means I would've preferred a different editing style. This is the
first of Rian Johnson's movies I've seen since Brick (which I love).
I'm now looking forward to seeing more of Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion.
Klute (1971), dir. Alan J. Pakula. First watch, been meaning to see it
for a long time. Really compelling. Jane Fonda is incredible as Bree
(won an academy award for this) and contrasts well against the more
reserved performance from Donald Sutherland. The movie looks awesome;
I'm on a run of picking movies with great cinematography and lighting.
"What I'd really like to do is be faceless, and bodiless, and be left
alone." Goddamn. I should rewatch Parallax View and All The President's
Men to complete Pakula's Paranoia trilogy.
Violent Cop (1989), dir. Takeshi Kitano. Delivers on the title. Kitano
as a cop on a downward spiral. Grim. Cruel. Often striking to
look at, particularly the final showdown sequence. I really enjoyed
the pacing, the long still shots, the frequently muted affect. Could
have done without the SA, the villains were villainous enough already.
There's a clear thing here about cycles - repeating patterns of violence,
of corruption - that's conveyed very well and mostly without words. Heavy.
Brother (2000), dir. Takeshi Kitano. See this toot for comments.
The Third Man (1949), dir. Carol Reed. First watch. Loved it. Pretty close
to a perfect movie. The photography, the incongruous lighthearted
score, the twisty story, Cotten and Welles's performances, it's all great.
I knew a little about it going in (was waiting for Welles to show up) but
I didn't expect it to be so funny, so amusing. The zither score did a
lot of lifting there. Really glad I finally saw this.
