Movie Diary
I checked out Pieces Of A Woman because Vanessa Kirby is nominated for an Oscar for it, and even though Frances McDormand and Viola Davis both deserve it to, I think I'm really rooting for Kirby now. I've never seen a movie deal so directly with the trauma of losing a baby in childbirth -- there's no cinematic shorthand here, the tour de force opening half hour of the movie is an extremely realistic depiction of a home birth that ends with the newborn turning blue as EMTs try to save it (it's kind of mindblowing that Kirby isn't a mother, but her performance gave me flashbacks to the births of my kids). The rest of the movie a more slow and subtle portrait of grief and forgiveness and a really moving ending. Was surprising to see comedian Iliza Shlesinger in a drama like this, even in a small supporting role, cool that she ended up in an Oscar movie.
b) Tina
It was cool to watch this after I just spent a lot of time going through Tina Turner's catalog for my posts here last week, the movie actually opens with a performance of one of my favorite deep cuts, "Ask Me How I Feel." I wish they dug a little deeper into her work -- the documentary literally carries on as if her first 4 solo albums don't exist -- but there's a lot of great interviews and some incredible live footage. I didn't realize Kurt Loder co-wrote Turner's memoir that the biopic was based on, it was cool to see extensive interviews with him since it's been a long time since he was on MTV every day. It was interesting to see how they addressed the weird sort of commodification of Turner's life story that the documentary itself is a part of, how hard it was for her to be really one of the first celebrities in a famous couple who spoke openly about being abused by her husband. It felt like Tina was a good way for a legend to kind of have the final word on their life and career while they're still alive.
c) Irresistible
After Jon Stewart's underwhelming directorial debut, the 2014 drama Rosewater, it seemed encouraging that his second film was a little closer to his comfort zone, a political satire starring one of his most famous "Daily Show" co-stars, Steve Carell. Irresistible isn't a home run, but I enjoyed it, particularly how the movie kind of made me roll my eyes at some of the Sorkiny inspirational speeches and depictions of Wisconsin as an outdated cultural backwater, until the twist ending affirmed that the movie was in on the joke. Some of the directorial decisions were outright bad, though -- like the opening montage signified election day 2016 with that famous footage of the vaudeville guy getting hit in the stomach with a cannonball, really corny stuff. Rose Byrne was definitely the funniest part of the movie, I think they underused her a little.
I feel like at least a dozen movies exactly like I Used To Go Here hit VOD every year -- a dramedy with familiar likable actors from TV where a writer or artist goes back their hometown or where they went to college and has awkward confrontations with people from their past and wacky adventures with quirky locals. But it's good, I'd recommend it if you like Gillian Jacobs and/or these sorts of movies.
e) The Hustle
I think I already would've forgotten this movie came out 2 years ago if that one gif of Anne Hathaway tipping her wine glass hadn't become ubiquitous on Twitter in the last few months. But I've accepted that I'm just a basic bitch straight millennial white guy who will watch Anne Hathaway in absolutely anything, and it was fun to watch her do a goofy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels update with Rebel Wilson.
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on Monday, March 29, 2021 at 10:25 AM.
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