House of Gucci and Nightmare Alley: Reviews
What do these movies have in common? IDK they both have characters who frightened me?
Nightmare Alley
Y’all. I am still scarred by The Shape of Water so I was dragged to this one kicking and screaming. Then I saw Willem Dafoe was in it, and I knew it was my Oscar destiny. Each year we must have at least one movie in which Willem Dafoe plays an odd character. Behold! This is it.
So, this is actually quite a good movie. It bookends nicely, which I always love. It is noir but with that special Guillermo del Toro horror spin. The production design, costuming, cinematography all put you in another world. I like the juxtaposition of mentalism and psychoanalysis. Speaking of, Cate Blanchett is acting her ass off as she is wont to do.
Bradley Cooper’s best performance of the year. Maybe. Him as Jon Peters in Licorice Pizza was, in fact, the best part of that movie.
This movie is for people who
love creeptastic pictures full of horror and suspense
love Bradley Cooper and/or Cate Blanchett
need to get their Willem Dafoe plays a weirdo fix for the year
love a story that bookends with poetic justice
This movie isn’t for people who
are in the mood for an uplifting picture
don’t want to be creeped out
don’t want to see bad things happen to Bradley Cooper
can’t stand yet another movie in which a husband cheats on his wife
House of Gucci
So, yeah. This movie is over the top, but truth is stranger than fiction. I found it to be a thoroughly engrossing film. It’s well done, but I can see why it didn’t get a Best Picture nomination. What makes this film are the performances, especially how Adam Driver plays Maurizio and how Gaga plays Patrizia. Jared Leto is doing his thing. Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons do theirs. Bonus: Salma Hayek. I am always here for more Salma Hayek.
The craziest thing about this movie is how much it gets right. Check out this USA Today article that’s a fact check.
One of my notes: “I actually paid attention to this whole movie.” It should be noted, however, that I am easily entertained in many regards. I also cannot abide movies that take themselves too seriously (cough) Dune (cough) and House of Gucci ain’t doing that.
This movie is for people who
enjoy soapy, over the top movies
like characters and performances
need to get their Jared Leto plays a weirdo fix (I think he’s trying to usurp Willem Dafoe in that regard)
love them some fashion for the 70s, 80s, and 90s
This movie isn’t for people who
want a serious story
can’t stand another movie where a husband cheats on his wife
you’re still mad at Ridley Scott for blaming The Last Duel’s poor performance on Millennials? (Dude, haven’t the Millennials been through enough?)
#MondayMovies disclaimer: This blog is just for my thoughts. Sure, I’m a writer and an English major so I have some idea—we would hope—of how stories work. I’m also a flawed human being with my owns likes and dislikes, though, so please watch any movie you like and love it or hate it or just go for the popcorn. (Also, there will likely be a post a day leading up to the Oscars because I have quite a few films left)