{"id":13323,"date":"2023-11-26T15:41:51","date_gmt":"2023-11-26T20:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13323"},"modified":"2023-11-26T15:43:47","modified_gmt":"2023-11-26T20:43:47","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-53","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13323","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched a half dozen movies last week:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt5302918\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1-3-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Nyad\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-13324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1-3-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1-3.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0071877\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2-3-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"Murder on the Orient Express\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-13325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2-3-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2-3.jpg 656w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0087803\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/3-3-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"1984\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-13326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/3-3-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/3-3-686x1024.jpg 686w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/3-3-768x1147.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/3-3.jpg 928w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>When I watched <em>Free Solo<\/em>, I don&#8217;t remember thinking, what these directors need to make next is a <em>non<\/em>-documentary film. Yet now they have, with the sports biopic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt5302918\/\">Nyad<\/a>, and it&#8217;s the things you wouldn&#8217;t get with a documentary\u2014namely, the outstanding performances by Annette Bening and Jodie Foster\u2014that make this film worth watching. It&#8217;s otherwise a pretty standard-fare biopic, uplifting sure, but also light on the sort of details and critical eye that a documentary might have supplied.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>Albert Finney puts a <em>lot<\/em> of relish on his portrayal of Hercule Poirot in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0071877\/\">Murder on the Orient Express<\/a>, but honestly, that&#8217;s kind of what you want from this kind of star-studded whodunit.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I can&#8217;t exactly fault <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0087803\/\">1984<\/a> for being too bleak, since that more or less comes with the territory. But it is bleak more than anything else.  It&#8217;s very well made, though, and John Hurt and Richard Burton are both very good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14412446\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-3-210x300.jpg\" alt=\"Moloch\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-13327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-3-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-3-717x1024.jpg 717w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-3-768x1097.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-3-1075x1536.jpg 1075w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-3-1434x2048.jpg 1434w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-3-scaled.jpg 1792w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0037761\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/6-3-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-13329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/6-3-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/6-3-686x1024.jpg 686w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/6-3-768x1146.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/6-3.jpg 915w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0106452\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/5-3-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Body Snatchers\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-13328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/5-3-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/5-3-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/5-3-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/5-3-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/5-3-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/5-3-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>I can&#8217;t help but feel like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14412446\">Moloch<\/a> rushes its ending just a little, but that&#8217;s only because the rest of it is so well-paced and unsettling. And my quibbles aren&#8217;t with the ending itself, which is great and surprising and caps off a really strong small horror film.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0037761\/\">Hangover Square<\/a> was the last movie in Laird Cregar&#8217;s too-short career, and he&#8217;s the best thing about it. The rest of the movie feels well made and noir-ish, but also a little dated.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0106452\/\">Body Snatchers<\/a> makes a lot of really interesting and creepy choices. I still think the 1978 version has it easily beat for stylish science-fiction horror\u2014and this remake apes its predecessor&#8217;s most iconic shot a few too many times\u2014but there&#8217;s a lot to really like about this version as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also rewatched a couple of movies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0098635\/\">When Harry Met Sally&#8230;<\/a> holds up really well, and it&#8217;s arguably the best romantic comedy ever made. (I&#8217;d discredit any list that doesn&#8217;t at least have it in the top ten.)<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0048960\/\">Around the World in 80 Days<\/a>&#8230;doesn&#8217;t really hold up. I probably haven&#8217;t seen it in forty-something years, and didn&#8217;t remember it terrifically well to begin with, but it <em>was<\/em> a Best Picture Winner with a great cast. So I was hoping for something a little more than a dated and very Eurocentric (if not borderline offensive) travelogue. It&#8217;s not unpleasant, just kind of dull.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched a half dozen movies last week: When I watched Free Solo, I don&#8217;t remember thinking, what these directors need to make next is a non-documentary film. Yet now they have, with the sports biopic Nyad, and it&#8217;s the things you wouldn&#8217;t get with a documentary\u2014namely, the outstanding performances by Annette Bening and Jodie &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13323\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13323"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13332,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13323\/revisions\/13332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}