A Hero

Asghar Farhadi delivers what might be his best film since A Separation, not that he’s stumbled since then, he’s a fantastic filmmaker with a very distinctively human approach to his stories. I can see this causing quite the discourse, assuming lots of people even see this, because there’s definitely aspects of this story that can be applied to cancel culture, but honestly, the movie is so above anything reductive like that. It’s expertly plotted, and Amir Jadidi delivers a powerful performance. It’s definitely one of the best films I’ve seen this year, and it’s one I urge you to check out if it’s playing near you.

Cyrano

Hey, I still enjoyed The Woman In The Window. But I suppose Joe Wright’s latest film, Cyrano, will be more up people’s alley. It’s a mostly enjoyable musical, except the musical elements are the worst parts of the film. Having seen this in close proximity to West Side Story, it’s wild just how low energy and lucid the songs and dance sequences are in this compared to Spielberg’s film, though not super surprising. So, yeah, not a fan of the music, but the movie around them is still quite good, and more than good enough to make for a fun time. Peter Dinklage does some great work here, and it’s wild that he doesn’t get more opportunities to lead stuff. So, while I’m not in love with this film, I think it’s really solid, and worth a watch.

The Unforgivable

Talk about a film that rests on the shoulders of a lead. Not that the film is bad, far from it, I found it fairly compelling, but it would not be a film that I would call “noteworthy” had it not been for the committed performance from Sandra Bullock. She’s terrific here, bringing a rough edge to this damaged character, delivering a lot through her physicality. The film can sometimes get hokey, but I was able to go with it. Also, Jon Bernthal has a nice supporting role in it, the supporting cast is surprisingly stacked, and they all do a good job at elevating the middling script. Not great, but a decent character piece that’ll kill a couple hours.

Don’t Look Up

Boy, I’ve been having a journey with this one. Upon watching, I felt mixed on it, but over time, I was leaning positive, with reservations, of course, cause there are moments that really stuck with me. However, after seeing how Adam McKay and David Sirota have responded to some of the criticisms the film has been getting (some I agree with, some I don’t, either way, it’s perfectly reasonable and fair criticism), I just got really annoyed, and I’m back to being mixed, but leaning more negative this time around. Not to say there aren’t things I don’t appreciate about it, there are some really funny gags, the performances are fun, I like that it commits to the bit, especially with the ending. But man, if only we could’ve gotten this from someone like Armando Iannucci, then this probably would’ve had the impact it needed.

7 Prisoners

This is a bleak but engrossing Brazillian film that explores labor exploitation and modern forms of slavery. Not a fun time, but the filmmaking has an energy to it that keep you engaged from start to finish. It is very tense, and riveting, and the actors feel very natural and raw. This is the second film from Alexandre Moratto, I haven’t seen his first, but he is definitely a filmmaker to keep an eye on. If given the opportunity, I think he is capable of doing some really good stuff in the future if this is what he’s able to do now.

Drive My Car

I’m so glad to see this film slowly grow in awareness and awards in various critic circles. It’s a truly special film, and one that hasn’t left me since I saw it. It might seem like a hard film to recommend, given its three hour length, methodical pacing, and its general lack of interest in a plot. I haven’t seen all of Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s films, but I did enjoy Asako I & II a lot, and I loved this one as well, so I’m very interested in going back to his earlier work. It’s a soft-spoken film, but there still manages to be something that keeps you engaged. From the haunting and beautiful filmmaking to the strong performances. It’s a bold film, one whose pleasures are incredibly hard to market and sell, but it’s so assured and confident in its delivery that I was really swept up in it.

I think that’s enough for now, I got more films to talk about, and you’ll hear about them soon enough. In the meantime, I hope you find something here worth checking out, and I wish you all a happy New Years!

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