THREE MINI-REVIEWS

THREE MINI-REVIEWS

Hey, y'all! Been away for a bit, but I'm back with three mini-reviews, so let's get started with the biggest one:

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER

...boy, do I have some mixed feelings about this one!

Is the movie a little too long? Yes. Does it engage a little too much in plot threads that don't go anywhere? Mmhmm. Does the film suffer from once again having an antagonist with a valid point and good ideas that cannot be heeded because he's violent and murderous, because going all the way with the ideas he's proposing would indirectly conflict with the interests of a capitalist superstructure like Disney? Hoo boy, yes!

But on the other hand...does it have great music by Ludwig Goransson, overall better cinematography, solid direction by Ryan Coogler, and stellar performances from everyone in the cast? Yes. Are the action scenes - particularly in the first act - a ton of fun? Mmhmm. And does it pay the appropriate amount of respect to the late Chadwick Boseman in two wonderful but tragic scenes, and did it have me bawling like a baby inside by the end? Hoo boy, yes!

So, yeah, some complicated feelings on this one, but I would still definitely recommend it, for the opening and closing scenes alone, if for no other reason. 

PAN'S LABYRINTH

Well, can't believe it took me a while to get around to this one. Guillermo del Toro's seminal dark fairytale is about as good as everyone says it is. Tragic, incredibly imaginative, and layered with subtext, Pan's Labyrinth definitely makes me want to explore del Toro's ouevre as a filmmaker even more, as this and Pacific Rim are the only works of his that I've seen from start to finish. 

Also, is it just me, or does anybody else get major Miyazaki vibes from this one? 

DON'T WORRY DARLING

This psychological thriller from director Olivia Wilde tells the story of Florence Pugh and Harry Styles as a couple living in an idyllic 50's suburb. She's a blissfully happy stay-at-home wife, he's the typical Man of the House, going to work as an engineer with some other men at the mysterious Victory Project...

And if you've read that plot description and have seen a movie (ANY MOVIE) before, you know exactly where this is all going and, in the words of MovieBob, you will be shocked...that the film expects you to be shocked by it. 

Now, don't get me wrong, there's some good stuff in here: Wilde's direction is solid, all the actors are trying, John Powell sounds like he's stepping out of his comfort zone with a more experimental, Reznor/Ross-type score, and Matthew Libatique's rich and colorful cinematography is wonderful as always. But the story of which they're all in service is just pedestrian and nothing special, yet strutting around like it has something really important to say. 

Also, it's yet another example of the surface-level feminism Hollywood engages in, i.e. the type that doesn't bother to acknowledge the intersections of race and class. Hell, the only black woman in this film with a name (Kiki Layne, who is unfortunately WASTED in this film) exists just to be gaslighted and to almost die so our main character knows something's not right here. 

I expected better from Wilde and everyone else involved, but as it is, Don't Worry, Darling was a huge letdown for me.