I got to three of my five I had planned for the weekend...
Paddington
A great choice for those of us just trying to maintain our sanity on a day-by-day basis. This is my second time through, and already it feels super familiar and very much like a warm blanket. At its core, you have a tale of a sympathetic and resilient bear that has been through great trauma and is simply in need of a home. I'm not sure how the decisions were made for Paddington's presence as a bear that talks to be both extraordinary, but then also not something to get in a fuss about or all the authorities on. Somehow, he just seems to slip fairly naturally into the world of the humans - so long as he doesn't touch anything. There are some wonderful action sequences resulting from his ignorance of his surroundings that pack a super-ironic punch without becoming excessive. The first "facilities" scene is classic, and the Officer Paddington chase-down of a wallet thief is also wonderful. Even when the stakes are raised and Paddington's hide is on the line, the tone is never that you think it's all going to end poorly. We've had enough sadness anyway, from that beginning. No, it's all about how Browns will work through their own family issues to come together as a dynamic unit to save their friend, though both guts and luck. They're like the opposite of The Incredibles, they really have no skill, but The Incredible's original problem dovetails nicely with that of the Brown's, in that their main hurdle was for all of them to come to a mutual understanding and love that was previously impossible because of their parents' hangups and personality defects.
I'm a big fan of the special effects and action sequences here as I'm not in a lot of films that use them too gratuitously, and here at least they're used for the purpose of love and understanding. I also love, love, love the set design, especially the house, and the way it's presented as a dollhouse. This thing is just brimming with imagination. Now it's time to FINALLY see #2!
Best warm blanket scene to make you feel extra-special-good: Paddington finally get the bath he's been needing. Oh, the fluffiness!
Enola Holmes
It's a cute film with a few surprisingly deep insights on what it means to live in a system that privileges you and yours. The basic issue that is Enola's mother has suddenly left her daughter and the manor to serve the greater good, and Enola, in her own way, must do the same. While the puzzles are intricately crafted, and the value on observational skills is at a premium, it is one where I wonder why the mother doesn't just bring Enola in on it in the first place. Seems like a lot was left to chance with Tewkesbury and his pro-reform vote, which then makes you feel like it was all done just to make a movie. I did enjoy all the fourth-wall breaking, I thought it was fun, playful, and gave an airy quality to the film. Millie Bobby Brown is quite magnetic and makes her character all the more easy to feel sympathy for. I didn't find anything extra special in the cinematography or editing, it all moves at a moderate pace, and the mixing in of close-ups (where the fourth wall is often broke), medium, and then some wide angle shots, simply make this look like a proficiently-made film. I think it could've made it on big screens, but really I just watched it for something light with a happy ending, which is what you get.
Synedoche New York
This one got to me even more than I expected or really wanted. It's brilliant on many levels, and reminds me a bit of 8 1/2, as both are films within films, and films about making films (or, a play, as in Synedoche New York). I don't want to get into too many 8 1/2 comparisons, because I feel like they don't do any favors to Synedoche, as Fellini's work is far more complicated and ultimately gives its creator a bit of the benefit of the doubt, while Kaufman is a little tougher toward who may well be his avatar for the film, Caden Cotard. I'm trying to learn how to handle myself with a little more grace, and Synedoche New York is like the opposite of that. The final scene just did me in, I felt extremely ugly once the credits rolled, likely a symptom of my own current troubles. Great movie, like 8 1/2 better, like I'm Thinking of Ending Things Better, still a really good watch and one I'm sure to revisit.