Odds and Ends

I see that it is exactly one month since my last post. That month has been filled with watching lots of films with no particular thematic ties, so rather than going into an-depth discussion analysis this month I will list some of them with brief yay or nay comments. Here they are in no particular order:

“Saltburn” (Prime) Watchable enough, but seems confused about what it is (murder mystery a la Patricia Highsmith?–nowhere nearly as good as The Talented Mr. Ripley, class commentary? satire?) I thought it was a satirical comedy at first but then I was wrong–I think).The movie left me perplexed but not in the way its producers intended. Also never been crazy about nude dancers–male or female. (if you watch it you will see what I mean)

“Poor Things” (Elmwood Theatre) Fantastical and pretty compelling. Fabulous costumes, intriguing premise, great performances–Emma Stone’s in particular. Nudity but so much better than Saltburn’s.

“Asteroid City” (Apple) Awful. And so White!!!

“I Am a Noise” (Netflix) If you ever had fantasies about being a Joan Baez this new, intriguing and brutally honest documentary will make you glad you aren’t/didn’t.

“Anatomy of a Fall” (Prime, Apple) Could be a little shorter but phew!–the tension is almost unbearable. The filmmakers do a superb job of building the story, revealing ambiguous detail after detail. A busman’s holiday for therapists, so perhaps best to let this one alone if therapy is your line of work.

“Dumb Money” (Prime/Apple) I highly recommend this (kinda) feel good movie based on true events. It has to do with hedge funds so of course I didn’t really quite understand all that was going on, but love the cast and the sentiment and the little guy sticking it to the rich guys. It’s a sad commentary on the stock market and how its relatively democratic underpinnings have been hijacked by hedge funds. It won’t reestablish your faith in the SEC btw.

Two great and very different Korean films: “Past Lives” and “Return to Seoul” The past plays a big role in each of these two films but in a very different way. “Past Lives” is a romance of sorts and touches on some universal themes of lost loves. The setting is New York. “Return to Seoul” is a darker, painful journey of a twenty-something French woman seeking to find her roots as a Korean war adoptee. The setting is Seoul. Definitely not K Drama genre.

“Tracking Edith” (Kanopy) A fascinating but occasionally frustratingly vague documentary about a Russian spy and photographer who never took any money for her work because she believed so passionately in the cause.

“Rustin” (Netflix)  Colman Domingo does a terrific job of portraying the complex figure of a Bayard Rustin organizer of the historic 1963 March on Washington. The movie attempts to portray the power struggles and setbacks Rustin had to overcome (including being an out gay black man in the early sixties). Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins was an unfortunate choice and I cringed every time he appeared. Fortunately the movie was strong enough that it didn’t ruin it.

And here are some of those time eating series when nothing seems appealing:

“Suits” (Netflix) Started watching this because I finished watching “The Crown” ( a bit like eating potato chips) and heard that Meghan Markle was in it. Sure enough there is the Duchess of Sussex as a paralegal sashaying around in what seems to be required attire for any female employee from partner to file clerk: extremely tight skirt, cinched waist and tight cleavage revealing top. I recorded one episode where there were ten shots of the very attractive rear ends (female of course) exiting the room on stilettos. Setting that aside, I do love the New York City scenes and until Season 3 the story line was pretty interesting. Not so much now, but occasionally in desperation…

“The Makanai:Cooking for the Maiko House” (Netflix) I will watch just about anything Japanese director Kore-eda does and this is no exception. But really, hardly anything happens in it. It’s like taking a soothing, smooth stoned hot water bath. Food is its main focus and it gives a wonderful sense of the food markets in Kyoto as one of the main characters wanders around buying food to prepare for the young girls in training to become “maiko”–traditional, kimono clad performers.

And finally my film diversion recently has been the films of Yasujiro Ozu. I won’t name them all because he made so many, but oh I am so in love with them. They can be seen at Pacific film Archives if you live in the East Bay, borrowed in dvd form from the library (my major source) or streamed mostly from Kanopy or Criterion films.

Hoping to hear from you all as usual and for your suggestions for viewing.