Forrest Fujio-Gates

I tried to describe this movie to my wife and became worried it was some sort of fever dream I had. It's pretty nuts but I literally forgot about it until just now. It's one of the most "what the **** am I watching again" movies I remember from 2013. I don't know if it holds up I just remembered it and had to find it because i rember it feeling like I was losing my mind while watching it.

I was worried this was going to be Oscar baity and it very much was. I will say, solid performances and surprisingly interesting camerawork for a character drama but I feel a bit conflicted on it. As a pure watching experience as an industry satire I preferred The Menu, and I had my issues with that movie too. I liked the ending of Tár a lot. It was a joke that was well set up that I would describe as clever more than it was funny. Actually, "clever" is kind of my word of the day about this movie. This movie is exceedingly clever above most else.

Time to find out if Spy x Family is so good that even it's imitators are good. So far it's looking pretty good.

This is the first movie I've really liked Adam Driver in. I think the musical genre blankets Leos Carax's wild style well. Like Holy Motors took me a minute to meet where it lived but I was ready to with this movie immediately. I think it's because we're trained to take things representationally in musicals. I really really liked this. Don't expect conclusive answer to the questions or themes it presents though.

This is like a Lifetime Original movie by way of an arthouse horror director of the 70s (most popularly referenced is Zulawski) and as strange as the combo might seem I think it mostly works. It helps that the quality of the performances helps it stand out from the made-for-tv type stuff it reminded me of in parts even in its most "Lifetime Originals" moments. I appreciate the swing at very least and I was never bored for a moment.

This one might be kind of a tough sell as it's so slow. It really leaves a lot of downtime for me to think on what it was saying and if I was enjoying it. Those times ARE however all punctuated by something engaging or surreal happening and giving me something new to think about. And there is a lot going into this movie from the main character, Silverio's, life to Mexican history and the current political climate as they are experienced and interpreted by Silverio. As slow as this can be there are times when everything this movie is converge into something truly special. The "Letting go of Mateo" scene at the beach in particular is beautiful, and heartbreaking, and strange, and kind of darkly funny.