What I watched: June 2023

Air

This was a pleasantly surprising entry. I did not have high expectations going into this film, but the cast was stellar, and I had heard very good reviews from friends. So, I sat down on a Sunday evening and checked out Air. Ben Affleck is certainly a talented writer and director, and he does a fantastic job extracting a compelling story out of this. The small details are surprisingly not boring and watching the basketball division of Nike formulate a strategy was a genuinely tense affair. It is certainly an enjoyable watch, and it is always great to see Affleck and Damon collaborate.

3.5/5

Living in Oblivion

I had never heard of this film, but when I saw Steve Buscemi’s slightly unnerving grin staring at me from the screen, I was hypnotised, and it became an immediate must watch. And what fantastic coercion it was from Steve, I loved this film. This is a meta deconstruction of indie film making and the trials and tribulations of trying to get a film made. The classic tropes are there, the insecure actors, difficult to work with stars, incompetent crew, everything that can go wrong, doing so. It deconstructs scenarios over the space of three scenes. The chaos and frustration builds and builds and gets almost unbearable, until it seems like the stars align and a moment of beauty is captured… or not. The satire is balanced perfectly here and Buscemi’s performance here is wonderful, perfectly encapsulating all the emotions we as the viewers are feeling and translating into the world the film creates. A stressful but worthwhile viewing experience.

4/5

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

The original Indiana Jones trilogy is one of the best trilogies in cinematic history, it is the standard bearer for all action and adventure films; and rightfully so. Crystal Skull was a frustrating follow up, there were some truly interesting ideas and engaging action sequences… the issues were just too big with this film to overlook. It kind of ended the adventure with a bad taste in my mouth. This is where Dial of Destiny comes in. I have no doubt that the studio saw Rise of the Skywalker, pointed and said, “just do that!” This is 100% an attempt to fix the damage done by Crystal Skull. The plot and action sequences take all the beats of an Indiana Jones film and stitch it together to weave a perfectly made, fan pleasing blanket. In doing all this fan service and playing it safe, it kind of loses the risk taking and fun that makes the series special. I struggle to imagine a small child watching this and feeling inspired or entranced like the impact the original film still has to this day. That being said, it was an enjoyable entry to the series that does a good job in tying up loose ends and hopefully leaving everyone happy… now let Harrison Ford rest!

3/5

Sicario

Denis Villeneuve is one of the best filmmakers around. Blade Runner 2049 is a stunning feat of cinema and shows how to carry on franchises in modern cinema. He does big spectacles amazingly but his slow, tension building work is just as impressive. This is a masterpiece in muddy morality and a slow burn to a climax that leaves you shocked, disturbed and unsure if you agree with the outcome. Emily Blunt does a brilliant job of conveying these emotions and Benicio Del Toro is scarily sinister and cunning in a way that I have not seen from him in a long time. The nuanced view of corruption and those caught up in the midst of it is expertly crafted, and the constant twists and turns ep you guessing the entire time. A fantastic effort that proves Denis' range.

4/5

Asteroid City

Wes Anderson, you have done it again. I have said it before and I will say it again, I love this man and his films, they never fail to bring a huge sense of joy to my life, and I have never left the theatre without a grin plastered ear to ear. This feels like the perfect marriage of the new ‘Wes Andersony’ aesthetic and the heart of his original efforts. The visuals are a perfect follow up to The French Dispatch but explored in a different way. The bright, washed-out colours and the caricature of the forgotten American town paints a beautiful picture, providing the perfect backdrop and contrast for Wes to tell his most abstract and self-referential story yet. I keep hearing that this film is style over substance and that is complete rubbish. The contrast of the extreme bright colours, perfectly put together ‘play world’ and the dark, miserable, slightly odd ‘real world’ is in aid of the message of this film.

This is the first time I am aware of Wes Anderson being so self-critical in his writing, he heard all this nonsense about his work, and he addressed it head on. What is the point of his work the stories he choses to make, the style he presents them? Is he a worthwhile voice in modern cinema? Is he doing a good job with his art? All of this is packaged with usual fantastic craft of addressing the human existence, of dealing with grief, feeling lost and finding purpose in a confusing world. Despite their quirky exteriors and dry, odd tone of speech, Anderson’s characters are some of the most relatable and genuine representations of what it is like to be a person.

This jumped right up my Wes rankings and if it were not for the masterpiece that is the Royal Tenenbaums, would be right at the top. Moreover praise, this also might be Wes’ funniest work. The usual dry wit is here, along with some wonderfully silly visual gags. There is one that I will not spoil but it had me in tears in the cinema. Furthermore, the ‘do you dare me’ kid had me cracking up every time he uttered those words. I am sure the screening I attended wished I was not there, but I am so glad I was with how often I was busting out laughing.

This is a film that needs to be seen in theatres, it is handled with so much care and thought for the viewer, it deserves to be seen as intended on the big screen. This is such a wonderful film, and I cannot recommend it enough. On a final note, this film taught me that roadrunners are real??? I thought that they were only in Looney Tunes! Thank you, Wes, very cool!

5/5