Talk about FILMS you’ve just seen!
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“I can only think of three”
I can only think of two.
JAWS.
And then…JAWS 2.I watched the other current shark film at the weekend.
THRASH (Netflix).
But that’s more a re-do of CRAWL, with rising flood waters bringing the sharks into a residential town. It was garbage.I also saw THE END OF OAK STREET at the cinema. Also garbage. But enjoyable, park-your-brain garbage at least.
JAWS 2 works because of JAWS. I mean, JAWS is in a league of its own, it’s the definitive “shark thriller”, no doubt. And JAWS 2 works because it allows you to spend once again time on Amity Island, with Chief Brody and his family, with Major Vaughn and the city council. It’s of course just re-doing JAWS once again, but at least it gives you this satisfaction of re-visiting the area and people of the first JAWS movie (and has a music score just as good). Without question the best sequel of the JAWS franchise.
Indeed.
Because Universal managed to keep most of the crew together from the first film (sans Spielberg, of course), the whole production still has the vibe/sheen and quality of the first film, albeit diluted somewhat.
It’s a well mounted and handsome production, with some excellent set pieces.
And John Williams, at his peak, delivering another stellar score, cannot be underestimated.
I still enjoy JAWS 2 whenever I catch a showing of it on TV. Fond childhood memories of seeing it in the cinema, late 70s, as an early teen.Yeah. JAWS 2 was the first “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” album by John Williams I ever bought. JAWS 2 was also the first time I ever heard of the JAWS movies… I was too young when the first movie came out, but I have distinct memories of seeing the trailer for JAWS 2 on TV as a kid… of course, I was too young to see that movie back then too. 🙂
The scene where Brody shoots at the beach at a school of fish (which of course is seen as proof that he’s hysteric) is very good.
Come on, JAWS 2? I mean, the score is great, but the film is a pale, vision-less, standardized copy of the first. Then I’d rather have the deliberately camp DEEP BLUE SEA and THE MEG.
Just saw TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA, the buzz slasher film. Well, I understand its “project” (which is discussing gender roles and ingredients/references within the genre), but it loses itself in the last part, not really knowing what it wants. Kudos for some original choices (slow tempo, lots of dialogue over horror setpieces, exaggeration and self-reflection), but I’m getting kinda tired of gender/sexuality/woke discussions in horror films — there are SO many other interesting things about human existence that a horror film can discuss in its subtext. And sometimes, I just want to have the horror experience, a more engrossing, visceral experience, than thinking too much, without all the meta levels. Which is why I loved BACKROOMS so much, but was less enthused with OBSESSION, at least less than most other people.
As I said, I love JAWS, which is why I enjoy JAWS 2″ simply for the fact that it re-visits the territory. It’s like the second brewing of the same exceptional tea: yes, it’s diluted and not as great as the first time, but it’s still better than first time cups of many lesser teas. (I’m drinking tea at the moment…. and I’ve used that analogy before.) So even a lesser sequel-copy of JAWS is still the lesser sequel-copy of a masterpiece.
I’ve seen DEEP BLUE SEE and THE MEG, and they were okay too, I found them on a level with DEVIL’S MOUTH. DEEP BLUE SEA and THE MEG obviously strived for over the top camp creature action, with DEEP BLUE SEE upping up the game with not one but many marauding sharks with enhanced intelligence, and THE MEG with a super-shark the size of King Kong. DEVIL’S MOTH finally reduced the size and scope again to a small scale scenario with a realistically sized shark. I enjoyed all of these as pop corn entertainment, but I admit that JAWS 2 is closer to my heart, and it features one of John Williams all time greatest scores.
Oh, wow… can’t follow you there. I thought JAWS 3D is a ridiculously bad movie, only JAWS 4 managed to be even worse.
I watched the movies in that order:
Jaws > Jaws 2 > Jaws 4 > Jaws 3
At the point where I watched Jaws 3 my expectation level was in the right level for the movie, so I could enjoy it. Which I cannot say for Jaws 2 or Jaws 4.
I’m in the process of watching The Invite. I’m halfway the movie and I already know that I’m not going to like it very much. There’s something annoying about the characters and their dialog.
Over the weekend I watched two movies, one on Apple TV+, one on Amazon Prime. But coincidentally, they were both made in 2021, they both starred Denzel Washington (but in very different roles, demonstrating once again that he’s one of the best actors of his generation, with an eye for good material). One of these movies was great, and the other was at least very good. So I’ll take ’em on side by side:
First up is:
The Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen, 2021) 10/10
I’ve always loved Shakespeare, and Macbeth may well have been the first play I ever read. It is certainly the first I ever saw on a big screen, when I was 16 or so I saw Polanski’s feverish, blood‑stained version in a limited theatrical re-run.What’s Macbeth about? In a way, and I noticed that now watching this adaptation, the story feels like the BREAKING BAD of its day: an honest knight, loyal to his king, who slides briskly and brutally into murderous tyranny. Just my kind of story, though I hope that says more about my taste than my moral fibre.
There’s a reason why Shakespeare is still relevant today: his stories are deeply true and remain so… they are about the deepest feelings and passions of human beings. Sure, MacBeth may have been written in the 17th Century and takes place some time earlier even in Scottland… but its themes are timeless, they are Universal.
Joel Coen’s adaptation is not merely the best Macbeth I’ve ever seen; it’s one of the best Shakespeare films I’ve encountered, full stop. And it achieves this by doing almost the exact opposite of Kenneth Branagh’s baroque maximalism (which I also adore, in the same way one occasionally craves a dessert with tons of cream and sugar and toppings). Branagh gives you sweeping camera moves, operatic emotion, his style is hot and passionate and elaborate. Coen, meanwhile, pares everything down until only the essentials remain in its brisk 105 minute running time. The film is stark, monochrome, and shot in Academy ratio, a deliberate nod to expressionist silent cinema. More than once I found myself thinking of Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, with its haunted geometry and shadows.
The witches are always one of my favorite parts of Macbeth, and here they are played by a single actress who conjures a trinity through voice, posture, and a few well‑placed tricks of smoke and mirrors. It’s a clever choice, and it works because the film’s entire aesthetic is built on distillation.
If Branagh’s Shakespeare is an iced coffee with toffee and cream, Coen’s is a distilled espresso: sharp, concentrated.
Denzel Washington, is terrific… His Macbeth is weary, proud, both frightened and frightening… Fully believable. A man who believes he can outthink fate and be one step ahead of it. No dice, of course.This is Shakespeare reduced to its bones. It’s Shakespear in black ink on white paper. Coen trusts the text, trusts the actors, and trusts the audience. The result is a version of Macbeth that feels both ancient and new, it is timeless, both theatrical and unmistakably cinematic at the same time.
One of the best Shakespeare adaptations I’ve ever seen. Watched on Apple TV+, but it’s so good, I think I will have to seek out the 4K Bluray.
That’s what I watched on Friday, Saturday I was in a Zoom chat, and Sunday I watched:
The Little Things (John Lee Hancock, 2021) 8/10
You know that line people like to toss around: “I don’t need reviews, I make up my own mind.” Haha. Yeah. As if the point of a review is to tell me what to like or dislike. No, it’s not. Of course you make up your own mind. The point of reviews is not to outsource taste. It’s to avoid wasting two hours. That’s why I read them, and that’s why I write these little forum rants… But sometimes, reviews almost keep you from watching something you should have.Sometimes you simply want to watch a movie… so I checked what’s on Prime and what I haven’t seen yet… which is how I arrived at The Little Things. Rotten Tomatoes at 44%. Hmmm… not exactly a vote of confidence. Another trite serial killer thriller?
But then you look at the cast: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto.
At that point the question becomes less “is it good?” and more “how bad can it realistically be with that cast?” As it turns out, not bad at all. In fact, quite good. It is considerably better than I expected. Both Nicole and I ended up enjoying it very much.
Set in the 1990s, the film pits three very different actors against one another in a slow-burn procedural. Washington plays a burned-out former investigator, who has retired from the L.A. force and is now doing rural deputy duties. Rami Malek is all tension and ambition, is the rising L.A. detective who not so reluctantly (they avoided that cliché) teams up with him on a serial killer case. And then there’s Jared Leto, playing a repair-shop employee who may or may not be the culprit. I won’t lean out of the window here, but this might be the best performance by Jared Leto I’ve seen. Unsettling, ambiguous, and just odd enough to throw you off and keep you guessing.
Here’s a short 1 minute clip (that won’t spoil anything) from a scene with all three actors (from roughly the middle of the movie):
The film may not be a masterpiece on the level of Se7en (I see reviewers compare it sometimes to this film, though in many ways it has more in common with David Fincher’s other great serial killer movie, Zodiac), but it’s a very good, solid thriller. It lives through the performances. Even the final stretch, which could easily have collapsed into cliché, stays sharp. The twists land, the ending lingers, and the whole thing leaves a faint aftertaste. Of the good kind, not the “I should have watched something else” kind.
In short: sometimes the little things DO add up. (Couldn’t resist… )
Thanks for the MacBeth review. Don’t think I saw the Branagh version. I also remember the Polanski version well which I saw in school the first time actually! This one sounds like it could be right in my alley. (Btw, I think you actually meant “expressionistic” instead of “impressionistic silent movie”?)
There is no Branagh version of Macbeth, I was just referring to Branagh’s general style of Shakespeare adaptations. And yes, expressionistic is right… classic German expressionism. I corrected it! Thanks.
There is no Branagh version of Macbeth, I was just referring to Branagh’s general style of Shakespeare adaptations.
Yeah, of course. I actually did read it that way but for some reason my brain mixed up my internal question why didn’t he do one on answering 😉
Nice write-ups, Nick. I’ll set aside some time to read those properly later, over some wine.
By the way, I just saw THE DEVIL’S MOUTH last night. My opinions largely echo yours from earlier.
Speaking of The Branagh Versions, his best Hamlet is, in my opinion, also the best Hamlet, which he produced and directed in 1992 for BBC Radio 3. It’s the best telling of the story I’ve heard, simply captivating. Music is by Patrick Doyle, it’s got a full sound world, and the cast includes
Hamlet: Kenneth Branagh
Claudius: Derek Jacobi
Gertrude: Judi Dench
Polonius: Richard Briers
Horatio: Michael Williams
Ophelia: Sophie Thompson
Laertes: James Wilby
Player King: Michael Hordern
Player Queen: Emma Thompson
Ghost: John Gielgud…it’s like listening to one of his movies. When he actually made the movie four years later, I could feel the “I’ve done this already” energy, by comparison with this one.
It’s listenable here: https://archive.org/details/hamlet-prince-of-denmark
And I highly recommend it.
Cool, I had no idea Branagh had done a Radio version of HAMLET… and with a stellar cast as well. Must check this out, thanks!
Not bad but I wasn’t that impressed. I think 6/10 is about right. Now on to Obsession, that other surprise hit.
I thought BACKROOMS was terrible. Dull, ponderous and not the slightest bit scary or unsettling.
On the other hand, I thought OBSESSION was very good. Much better than I anticipated. The main girl was exceptional.I absolutely loved BACKROOMS. Made me go back and explore the YouTube series and back story. One of my top 10 films of the year, for sure. Super creepy. OBSESSION, meanwhile, was okay, but I’ve grown tired of all the gender discussions in horror films. And it wasn’t particularly scary, just gross. I agree that the girl was good.
Even though it’s all quite watchable, I didn’t see anything else of artistic value. The main character annoyed me. I mean, my obsession would be so over the minute a girl pulls an ‘Exorcist’ on me. Of course, despite all the superfreakiness, he still tries to make it work or the movie would be over. 5/10
Watched THE SMILE 2 yesterday and didn’t find it as good as the first one. Maybe a problem that the main character got to know very late in the movie what’s actually going on. And as with time it seemed more and more random what is real and what illusion you care less and less about what’s happening. But I liked that it wasn’t just a 1:1 repetition of the first one. And the main character was interesting.
A bit behind with movies but I saw the tennis drama CHALLENGERS yesterday since I remembered some buzz about it and it was for free on the mediathek of one of our public broadcasters. The film itself was okay as a drama. Although I could not really connect to the main characters at all. The Reznor & Ross score to me did almost nothing to support the drama. All I remember is that it stayed on the surface helping the tennis matches to get some acoustic speed with some “hip” beats and some nice synth. I was never a big fan of them (SOCIAL NETWORK was totally overrated) and they generally fall at least into the category “servicable” to cite our discussion on the other topic.
Ah, yes, SOCIAL NETWORK of course! No idea why I confused that probably becasue Facebook has source code 😉
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