{"id":13995,"date":"2025-01-12T16:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-12T21:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13995"},"modified":"2025-01-12T16:57:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T21:57:57","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-103","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13995","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, I watched 8 movies:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0097162\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dead Calm\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-1-684x1024.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-1-768x1150.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-1-1026x1536.jpg 1026w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-1-1368x2048.jpg 1368w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-1-scaled.jpg 1710w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0040160\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2-1-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Big Clock\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13988\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2-1-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2-1-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2-1-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2-1-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2-1-1382x2048.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2-1-scaled.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0089153\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-1-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"Flesh + Blood\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13989\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-1-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3-1.jpg 664w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt28607951\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Anora\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-1-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-1-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-1-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-1-1382x2048.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4-1-scaled.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0097162\/\">Dead Calm<\/a> generates a lot of terrific tension.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0040160\/\">The Big Clock<\/a> is fun, resting mostly on the performances.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0089153\/\">Flesh + Blood<\/a> sometimes feels like it&#8217;s trying a little too hard to be bleak, amidst the gore and the violence, and I suppose I can understand why some critics at the time felt the movie needed a hero, or at least a guiding morality. But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.avclub.com\/paul-verhoeven-s-flesh-blood-it-s-all-right-there-in-1798235175\">as Noel Murray wrote<\/a> a couple decades later, &#8220;The rawness of it all fits into Verhoeven\u2019s persistent vision of a world of mass delusion, where self-interest masquerades as good intentions\u2014a hell on Earth where the poor die while the rich get paid.&#8221;<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>Sean Baker treats even his sometimes unlikable characters with such empathy and understanding that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt28607951\/\">Anora<\/a> would probably be worth watching even without such a stunning central performance by Mikey Madison.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0039356\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-1-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"The End of the River\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13991\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-1-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-1-689x1024.jpg 689w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-1-768x1142.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-1-1033x1536.jpg 1033w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/5-1.jpg 1377w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1865573\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/6-1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Bad Kids Go to Hell\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13992\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/6-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/6-1-693x1024.jpg 693w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/6-1-768x1135.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/6-1-1040x1536.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/6-1.jpg 1386w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0414055\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-1-211x300.jpg\" alt=\"Elizabeth: The Golden Age\" width=\"211\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13993\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-1-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/7-1.jpg 525w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0116823\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/8-1-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"Larger Than Life\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/8-1-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/8-1-665x1024.jpg 665w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/8-1-768x1183.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/8-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>There are moments to enjoy in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0039356\/\">The End of the River<\/a>, one of only two movies that Powell and Pressburger co-produced under the Archers imprint, independent of their own films. But those moments are scattered, and it&#8217;s difficult to say what exactly they add up to.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>Borderline incomprehensible, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1865573\/\">Bad Kids Go to Hell<\/a> would like to flatter itself that it&#8217;s edgy, almost clever, but the movie is all smartass and no smarts, a largely unpleasant experience, with a bargain-bin collection of borrowed plot devices and ill-equipped actors.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>Questions over some of its historical accuracy aside, the biggest problem with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0414055\/\">Elizabeth: The Golden Age<\/a> isn&#8217;t its dramatic license, but its lack of drama altogether. The film tries to cover too much, too many years of Elizabeth&#8217;s reign, to such an extent that sweeping historical events hardly have a chance to register on the screen. Despite the sumptuous production design and some strong performances, particularly Cate Blanchett in the title role, this is a weak follow-up to 1998&#8217;s <em>Elizabeth<\/em>.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0116823\/\">Larger Than Life<\/a> is amiable but not particularly funny. (And there&#8217;s a good reason why <em>A Time to Kill<\/em>, released the same year, and not this, was Matthew McConaughey&#8217;s breakout role.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also re-watched Steven Spielberg&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0067023\/\">Duel<\/a>, which is arguably the best TV movie ever made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, I watched 8 movies: Dead Calm generates a lot of terrific tension. The Big Clock is fun, resting mostly on the performances. Flesh + Blood sometimes feels like it&#8217;s trying a little too hard to be bleak, amidst the gore and the violence, and I suppose I can understand why some critics at &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=13995\">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-13995","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\/13995"}],"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=13995"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13997,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13995\/revisions\/13997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}