{"id":13410,"date":"2024-01-01T16:13:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T21:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13410"},"modified":"2024-01-01T16:13:16","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T21:13:16","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-58","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13410","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the roundup of the last nine movies I watched at the end of 2023:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0454082\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Black Christmas\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-694x1024.jpg 694w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-768x1134.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1.jpg 1016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt15398776\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"Oppenheimer\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-1382x2048.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2-scaled.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt18257464\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Polite Society\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/3.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>The 2006 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0454082\/\">Black Christmas<\/a> remake is extremely bad, leaden with confusing flashbacks and indistinguishable characters, and it\u2019s easily the worst of the three movies that bear that name.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt15398776\/\">Oppenheimer<\/a> is incredibly cinematic for a movie this long that\u2019s largely built on testimony and public hearings.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt18257464\/\">Polite Society<\/a> is a lot of frenetic fun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14181816\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"Maggie Moore(s)\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-1382x2048.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/4-scaled.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14849194\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Holdovers\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt21942866\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/6-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dream Scenario\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/6-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/6-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/6-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/6-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/6.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>There are some pretty good performances in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14181816\/\">Maggie Moore(s)<\/a>, even if it kind of feels like everybody is there as a favor to somebody else, and a few decent enough laughs, even if the whole thing feels more likea mild diversion than anything else. It often feels a lot like <em>Fargo<\/em>-lite.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14849194\/\">The Holdovers<\/a> is a melancholic, sometimes bittersweet holiday delight.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt21942866\/\">Dream Scenario<\/a> didn\u2019t quite come together for me in the end\u2014and might need a repeat viewing\u2014but it\u2019s fun and strange, and it\u2019s got one of the better recent Nicolas Cage performances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt5537002\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/7-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Killers of the Flower Moon\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/7-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/7-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/7-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/7-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/7-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/7-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt17009710\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/8-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"Anatomy of a Fall\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/8-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/8-698x1024.jpg 698w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/8-768x1127.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/8-1047x1536.jpg 1047w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/8-1396x2048.jpg 1396w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/8-scaled.jpg 1745w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt22687790\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/9-238x300.jpg\" alt=\"A Haunting in Venice\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/9-238x300.jpg 238w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/9-814x1024.jpg 814w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/9-768x967.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/9.jpg 1179w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>You have to give Martin Scorsese for continuing to stretch himself as a filmmaker, and for continuing to ask really difficult questions, as he does in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt5537002\/\">Killers of the Flower Moon<\/a>, about the nature of evil. It\u2019s also great that he centers the film more around the Osage people\u2014although he probably could have done so even more, not least because Lily Gladstone is fantastic in the film.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>For a movie that very deliberately offers no conclusive answers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt17009710\/\">Anatomy of a Fall<\/a> is very satisfying. It\u2019s a smart and tense puzzle whose point is that it can\u2019t be solved.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt22687790\">A Haunting in Venice<\/a> is a little much at times, as Branagh plays way into the horror movie motifs and odd angles, but it\u2019s also pretty entertaining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also re-watched the other two, <em>much<\/em> better versions of <em>Black Christmas<\/em>\u2014the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0071222\/\">1974 original<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt10481868\/\">2019 remake<\/a>. I&#8217;m maybe a little more fond of the remake, which I think does some really interesting things above being a slasher movie and has a real point of view, but the original has a really great creepy scuzziness to it. You probably couldn&#8217;t ask for two movies with ostensibly the same subject (if not plots) but with such incredibly different philosophies. Both are well worth your time, while the middle 2006 child should be locked away and forgotten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the roundup of the last nine movies I watched at the end of 2023: The 2006 Black Christmas remake is extremely bad, leaden with confusing flashbacks and indistinguishable characters, and it\u2019s easily the worst of the three movies that bear that name. Oppenheimer is incredibly cinematic for a movie this long that\u2019s largely built &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13410\">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-13410","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\/13410"}],"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=13410"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13421,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions\/13421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}