Beltmann Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 As a roller coaster aficionado, let me tell you there's zero chance a ride op would let Kyle Marvin, or any rider, buckle in while holding bags of goldfish. Sure, Marvin ends up delivering one of the year's best bits of physical comedy, but to exist, the joke must first be forced, and that helps explain why, after a brilliant opening 30 minutes, I began to increasingly resist this movie's charms. Too often Splitsville feels like it needs to secure its loose articles; in coaster enthusiast parlance, it's the GP (general public) version of a screwball comedy or a Rohmer scenario. Much of it is wonderfully performed and gaspingly funny--the fight scene is an all-timer--but the screenplay's "sophistication" and "wisdom" almost always feel pushed through rather than thought through. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted 12 hours ago Author Share Posted 12 hours ago Sovereign Extra half star for the Jeff Tweedy song performed over the end credits and for the perfect final shot, which movingly brings together the movie's ideas about fathers, sons and ideological failure. In terms of diagnosing the social diseases, and resulting psychological havoc, that have led to our current political malignancy, this is a good start. Unfortunately, at this grotesque stage, with new and worsening symptoms at every turn, we need much more than a good start. Sovereign may be a movie of the moment, but it already feels behind the times. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted 12 hours ago Author Share Posted 12 hours ago Primate "Why doesn't anyone in this movie ever turn on the frickin' lights?," asked the exasperated woman sitting next to me. There are some memorable kills in this horror movie, but after that, it's about as lazy as they come. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted 12 hours ago Author Share Posted 12 hours ago Is This Thing On? Much better than Maestro, the previous movie directed by Bradley Cooper. partially because it's show-offy in less show-offy ways. Laura Dern is so, so good in this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted 12 hours ago Author Share Posted 12 hours ago Lurker Pairing this with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford would create a fascinating double bill about weaselly fans; what Jesse makes subtext, Lurker makes text... until it turns itself inside out, becoming an ultra-modern spin on the celebrity leech story. Or is it a vampire story? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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