A little post holiday catchup:
Chocolat - It's a nice enough story I guess. I appreciate the cute concept and the main character. Overall I found it whimsical but it never quite charmed me. Given enough time I might've grown to hate its sweetness. I wavered between tolerating it and finding it okay. No special moments for me.
5/
10Moneyball (rewatch) - Philip Seymour Hoffman knocks a little role out of the park at a time in his career when he was beyond little roles. God I hate his character. Pitt is an excellent angry actor. His rages are deeply satisfying to watch. The stuff with the daughter could be cut entirely without consequence. Only
A Few Good Men rivals this for rewatchability in my books.
10/
10Primal Fear (rewatch) - It's less good with every viewing, but I still find it serviceable.
7/
10If Beale Street Could Talk - I was impressed with its quality at the time of watching. The story depressed me and I came away troubled. I haven't found it to be memorable but the filmmaking was solid. I wish I'd made more of a connection to it, but it's well told and the performances are right up there.
7/
10Last Holiday - This movie made me sad because it had the opportunity to have such a ballsy ending but chose to play it safe. The movie was really quite passable up to that point. I would have recommended people see it if had it made darker choices. Alas, a rom-com is gunna rom-com.
5/
10Nobody's Fool (rewatch) - In it's day this was really quite a good movie. It's fine now too but awfully full of tropes. It's a straight-down-the-middle 90's drama... and one of the better examples. There's a scene where Melanie Griffith flashes Paul Newman that holds up okay. A bunch of others that are stupid. I dunno... Grumpy Old Men manages to be a superior comedy AND drama imo.
6/
10Regarding Henry - Kind of a gutless script. Harrison Ford is a poorly cast as a man who struggles to regain his speech, memories and motor functions after an accident... well except for the part that requires him to lay there unconscious, he's quite good at that. His character was a hot-shot corporate defence attorney before the accident and the script sees him return to work late in the film. He's really not ready for it though and yet somehow the film carries on the charade of him being able to do his job... it gets to the point it feels like
Weekend at Bernie's and you wonder how long it's going to take before somebody notices. It's badly handled. The film does have some heart though. I appreciate Harrison's efforts in that respect.
6/
10Bridesmaids (rewatch) - Big drop off between viewings. First time was good for some chuckles... now I just hate the improvisational comedy. The one scene that held up was Wigg's impression of a German authority and pretending to be Hitler. It was in such poor taste and so over the top it broke through the mediocrity and got me to laugh while putting my head in my hands. This may have only been because I happened to be watching it with a German.
4/
10Booksmart - Best thing I've seen from 2019 so far. That shot of a guy skateboarding down the school hall using a fire-extinguisher as a means of propulsion was so wonderful.
I knew I was in good hands after that. What a fun and fresh comedy. This is the freshest comedy I've seen in a long time. The world needed this! I needed this!
9/
10The Favourite - Pretty compelling. I broke it up in two sittings. Probably for the best. The motives weren't always clear but the cunning schemes were delightful to observe. Wonderful tone, very enjoyable performances. Sticks the landing. Weirder than I expected for an Oscar-contender. Less weird that I expected from the director of The Lobster. I'm surprised I liked it.
8/
10Red Joan - A bore. I disliked the storytelling and the decision to jump back and forth in time. Several tiresome scenes demonstrating the sexism of the day as if it were news. A frustrating, brilliant, and stupid main character. Serviceable but I would never recommend it.
5/
10