Not posting for one day is just One Of Those Things, not posting for two days starts to get me nervous, but not posting for three days is the point where I fear that you'll all abandon me and I'll return to find the blog a desolate wasteland.
That being said, I'm not going to be writing a review this day. It is that magical time of year called Holy Shit, Papers Are Due Week. However, not having enough time to review movies isn't the same as not having enough time to watch movies, and I do have a bit of a backlog that I'll be carving my way through. Here, mostly so you all know that I'm not dead, is a little preview of some of the full-length reviews coming soon to an Antagony & Ecstasy near you:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
So it looks like everybody fits into one of two camps: "Best since The Empire Strikes Back", or "weaker than the Original Trilogy and The Force Awakens, but better than the prequels" (there is the third camp of people who like or love the prequels, but these people are demented and needn't concern us here). I'm on team "Best since Empire". Everything else I have to say about the movie has been said someplace, but I still look forward to sharing my particular version of that stock review sometime soon, hopefully tomorrow night. 8/10
Manchester by the Sea
The best movie of the year that I was still somewhat disappointed by. I think it's Kenneth Lonergan's third-best film, and a little too inclined to trot out misery for the sake of misery, but the Affleck-Williams-Hedges trio is every bit as good as the hype claims. A phenomenal depiction of guilt and grief that dares to suggest that those emotions aren't things that you can quickly resolve thanks to a pat movie narrative. 9/10
Baraka - part of the ACS Fundraiser
A clear descendant of Koyaanisqatsi that's simply nowhere near as good (it has the insurmountable handicap of lacking Philip Glass, for one). It is, however, at least on par with Powaqqatsi. The imagery is mind-blowingly beautiful and the overall mode of spiritual meditation is quite something, but I can't help wishing it had just a little bit more of a clear-cut point of view. Rating TBD.
Toni Erdmann
A miracle: bitterly satirical social commentary mashed together with a goofball comedy in a wantonly indulgent 162-minute frame, and the result is one of the most trenchant and sweet-hearted movies of the decade. It also has the funniest scene of full-frontal nudity ever. The Cannes hype was, if anything, insufficiently rapturous. 10/10.
20 December 2016
12 comments:
Just a few rules so that everybody can have fun: ad hominem attacks on the blogger are fair; ad hominem attacks on other commenters will be deleted. And I will absolutely not stand for anything that is, in my judgment, demeaning, insulting or hateful to any gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion. And though I won't insist on keeping politics out, let's think long and hard before we say anything particularly inflammatory.
Also, sorry about the whole "must be a registered user" thing, but I do deeply hate to get spam, and I refuse to take on the totalitarian mantle of moderating comments, and I am much too lazy to try to migrate over to a better comments system than the one that comes pre-loaded with Blogger.
Seems like we agree on Rogue One's rating, at least, although I'm intensely curious to hear how you feel about particular elements, such as the oddly high level of necromancy present in the film. And I particularly look forward to catching up on some of the movies out this month, like Manchester By the Sea (Casey Affleck is probably a better ACTOR than Ben, even if Ben is a better populist leading man) and La-La Land (I've only just begun to accept my love of musicals, but I refuse to deny my love for Gosling and Stone).
ReplyDeleteAnd I've never heard of Toni Erdmann, but now you have me intrigued.
Pshaw. I'm a fan of Order of the Stick, the idea of blog schedules makes no sense to me! ;)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the papers, though. :)
With all of the writing that comes with grad school, I'm surprised you're able to write even *this* much "for fun." No worries, Tim! We'll be here when you get back.
ReplyDeletePatiently awaiting that Shin Godzilla review.
ReplyDelete@Will Where you been, man?
ReplyDeletehttp://reviews.antagonyecstasy.com/2016/10/there-is-no-godzilla-but-godzilla.html
Ugh. Literally more than anything else (but still keeping my eyes peeled for Toni Erdmann, the news this side of the Atlantic have been nothing short of deafening), I'm waiting for your inevitable review of Collateral Beauty, because more than anyone else on the planet, I trust your taste of good bad movies and I need to know it's as deliciously horrible as advertised by the roving masses.
ReplyDeletePlease do Lion and Nocturnal Animals soon!
ReplyDelete@moviemotorbreath
ReplyDeleteahhh, how'd I miss this? Thanks
Happy Holidays, Tim!
ReplyDeleteWhat about us folks who think both Rogue One and The Force Awakens are half-good movies with cool characters and story ideas, and half total crap? Don't we get a voice? I'm feeling marginalized.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your papers!
Hey Tim - I enjoy your insights and reviews immensely. But, while I patiently wait in between your posts, what other film analysis blogs should I read? Which reviewers do you regularly follow?
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