Le viager (Pierre Tchernia, 1972)
Astérix creator René Goscinny wrote this, and it shows. It has his comedic sensibility in spades, with a winking voice-over accompanied by an ethereal chorus reminiscent of The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (the most LSD-induced cartoon of all time, probably), all in the service of a comedy with a premise so morbid* that it shouldn't feel this fun. There is something intensely satisfying about watching evil people fail repeatedly.
*in 1930s France, a doctor who believes one of his patients only has two years to live gets into a life annuity contract with him... I don't know how that's called in English, but it's essentially a financial agreement where you pay an older person a yearly sum of money and you get their property when they die. I think you can see how this may play out in a dark comedy.
8/10
In the Electric Mist (Bertrand Tavernier, 2009)
Feels both rushed and languid. Love John Goodman and Mary Steenburgen, but this overall felt like it was grasping to find something to be about, and mostly failing. Seems likely that the True Detective guys watched this at some point though.
5/10
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Peter R. Hunt, 1969)
Easily my favorite James Bond of the 60s. Diana Rigg is miles above any female "character" the series had so far (though when the best attempt was a character named Pussy Galore, that's admittedly not a very high bar to clear), Lazenby is pretty good and makes the wise choice to not really try and compete with Connery by playing the character as much more grounded and human, but most importantly: the action. It's so good. Those ski scenes are iconic, but what makes them tick is that there is a very clear geography going into them, with them descending from the lair above the station, then Bond having to make his way into the crowds of the station itself, then a crazy car chase with Diana Rigg... and then more skiing action. So fun, and that stunt double for Lazenby is the MVP of the film. Savalas is also a much better Blofeld than the previous one(s?). In the end, it's still a James bond movie, and still quite shallow, which is a limiting factor. It does drag a bit at times, and there are some weird things like the women in "therapy" assuming "Bond" is gay because... he has glasses, I guess ? But overall, this was quite fun.
7/10