{"id":13465,"date":"2024-02-11T19:04:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T00:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13465"},"modified":"2024-02-11T19:04:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T00:04:58","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-62","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13465","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0357110\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Ballad of Jack and Rose\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-1.jpg 880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0094612\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Action Jackson\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt10676048\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/3-1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Marvels\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/3-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/3-1-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/3-1-768x1137.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/3-1-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/3-1-1383x2048.jpg 1383w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/3-1.jpg 1688w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>There are a lot of really strong performances in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0357110\">The Ballad of Jack and Rose<\/a>, not least by a very naturalistic Daniel Day-Lewis. But the film is cluttered with too many characters and often seems uncertain about what it&#8217;s actually trying to say, to the point that those performances kind of get lost in the mix.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I wish I could agree with people who say that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0094612\/\">Action Jackson<\/a> is an unsung and unjustly forgotten &#8217;80s action movie, but it just isn&#8217;t very good. None of the blame for that lies with Carl Weathers, who is quite charismatic in the title role, but it never finds the right balance of tone and doesn&#8217;t offer any especially memorable action setpieces of its own.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt10676048\/\">The Marvels<\/a> is incredibly disappointing, more so than any other recent Marvel failure, largely because it feels like there was a really good, possibly even great movie somewhere inside this one. The movie we get is bright and inventive in flashes\u2014something you couldn&#8217;t say about <em>Quantumania<\/em>, for instance\u2014but it&#8217;s never given enough time to breathe and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vLCvMb-jrCc\">feels badly chopped together<\/a>. There&#8217;s so much here that <em>could<\/em> have worked, and worked really well, but it feels like Marvel the studio just lost its nerve.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1111422\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/4-1-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Taking of Pelham 123\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/4-1-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/4-1-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/4-1-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/4-1-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/4-1.jpg 1382w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0053133\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"Odds Against Tomorrow\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5-671x1024.jpg 671w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5-768x1171.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5-1007x1536.jpg 1007w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5-1343x2048.jpg 1343w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/5-scaled.jpg 1679w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt11698800\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/6-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Enys Men\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/6-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/6-693x1024.jpg 693w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/6-768x1135.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/6-1039x1536.jpg 1039w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/6-1386x2048.jpg 1386w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/6.jpg 1624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>I don&#8217;t know that the original is a masterpiece or anything, but there&#8217;s nothing in Tony Scott&#8217;s remake of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1111422\">The Taking of Pelham 123<\/a> that&#8217;s an improvement on, or even as good as it.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0053133\">Odds Against Tomorrow<\/a> takes its time building tension, but it&#8217;s a taut little crime noir with some great moments.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I&#8217;m not sure I understand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt11698800\/\">Enys Men<\/a>, but I&#8217;m not sure <em>Enys Men<\/em> is meant to be understood, merely experienced. In that respect, it is fascinating and unsettling\u2014&#8221;feeling,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/enys-men-review-meditative-homegrown-experience\/\">as critic Calum Russell put it<\/a>, &#8220;more like an innovative art installation than a piece of narrative fiction.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt4815122\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/7-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"Time Trap\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/7-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/7-695x1024.jpg 695w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/7-768x1131.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/7-1043x1536.jpg 1043w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/7-1391x2048.jpg 1391w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/7-scaled.jpg 1738w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0014429\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/8-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Safety Last\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/8-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/8-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/8-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/8.jpg 1008w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2920808\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"God&#039;s Pocket\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/9.jpg 1382w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt4815122\/\">Time Trap<\/a> plays with some neat, if maybe slightly shopworn ideas, but it never really pulls any of them together into a clever or cohesive enough whole.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>Some of the gags in Harold Lloyd&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0014429\/\">Safety Last<\/a> inevitably feel dated, but some of them\u2014like that clock scene, for instance\u2014are rightly some of the most famous scenes in cinema history.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt2920808\/\">God&#8217;s Pocket<\/a> has a lot of good actors doing some very good work, and yet it all just falls apart into a weird mess of conflicting tones by the end. John Slattery is a capable enough directory, but having now seen both of his feature films, I think his greatest strength is convincing his famous friends to appear in them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also re-watched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0375063\/\">Sideways<\/a>, which I hadn&#8217;t seen in twenty years. (Want to feel old? <em>Sideways<\/em> is now a twenty-year-old movie.) It had been on my mind to revisit the film for a while, having recently watched (and loved) Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti&#8217;s more recent collaboration <em>The Holdovers<\/em>. Like that one, <em>Sideways<\/em> is just a pitch-perfect character study, full of bold comedic moments and lovely, tender character beats. Twenty years or not, it&#8217;s still a really terrific film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week: There are a lot of really strong performances in The Ballad of Jack and Rose, not least by a very naturalistic Daniel Day-Lewis. But the film is cluttered with too many characters and often seems uncertain about what it&#8217;s actually trying to say, to the point that those performances &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13465\">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-13465","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\/13465"}],"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=13465"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13467,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13465\/revisions\/13467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}