Oscar Movie Odds and Ends
Here are some movies that I don’t necessarily have a whole post about, so I’m going to group them together.
Dune
Last week I spoke about how The Power of the Dog is not my favorite kind of movie. Apparently, Dune is also not my kind of movie. It is just over two and a half hours, and I felt every single second of it. It was a slog.Once again, the story was not clear—at least not to someone who’s neither read the book nor watched the David Lynch version. At one point, Ryan said, “This movie sure feels slow for so much action.” It made me want to apologize for every story I’d ever written that had received back the note, “Your story lacks a sense of urgency.”
Also, the soundtrack really got on my nerves. It was like nails on a chalkboard.
That said, the cinematography was good. I liked Oscar Isaacs and Jason Momoa’s performances. I needed more Zendaya.
This movie is for people who
really love science fiction, especially Dune science fiction
love cinematography and movies that create a whole new world
like the actors in this film
have a tolerance for ambiguity
This movie isn’t for people who
do not like science fiction especially not the politics and intergalactic trade wars of the Star Wars prequels
like to know exactly who is who and what is going on
get bored with repeated scenes that do not lead you immediately to Zendaya
keep thinking about how uncomfortable all of that sand has to be
King Richard
At first I was skeptical about this one, but then I got the Entertainment Weekly that discussed how Venus and Serena Williams were involved in making the movie. I was on board, then, and I do recommend this one. Will Smith does, best I can tell, quite a good job of bringing Richard Williams to life. The pacing is good, the shots are good, I loved the performances, particularly those of the actresses who play the sisters. King Richard is, quite simply, a good movie. The only reason my notes are short is because I forgot to write down my thoughts immediately after. Bad Sally!
Caveat: I kept wanting to know more about their mother. Also, I feel we may have been seeing Richard Williams through the rosiest of glasses, but, hey, I’m a daddy’s girl, too.
This movie is for people who
like bio pics
like Will Smith
like Venus and Serena Williams
like tennis
want something to watch with the family
This movie isn’t for people who
don’t like fun? I’ve got nothing.
Ascension
Well, this is a documentary I watched. It’s a pastiche of scenes from China. I think it’s supposed to be a critique of consumerism, perhaps about how capitalism has somehow managed to make communism worse?
This movie is for people who
like documentaries, especially those about what people do for a living
are curious about working practices in China
like pastiches
have always wanted to see how sex dolls are made
This movie isn’t for people who
prefer a narrative structure to their documentaries
have already lost all hope that humanity will ever quit consuming and polluting
absolutely do not want to know anything about how sex dolls are made
#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.