It takes a long, long time to land on the moon. So much can be said for the research, development, and execution of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the lunar surface on July 21, 1969. You can also say as much as Damien Chazelle’s (La La Land, Whiplash) lackluster First Man. Maybe Chazelle should go back to writing his screenplays. After earning Oscar nominations (adapted for Whiplash, original for La La Land) for his first two directed movies, Chazelle picked up Josh Singer’s (Spotlight, The Post) for his third directorial effort. Unfortunately, the culmination likely didn’t do either man any favors. First Man lacked energy and originality and frequently veered into disinterest in its characters and outright boredom. While the film has resonated with critics (88%), there is a sharp dropoff in the audience score (66%). While the accomplishment in First Man is an important story that needed to be told in this medium (particularly to those who weren’t even born when this achievement happened, I think it should have been spearheaded by a director who is more seasoned in the biopic genre or at least had directed a film outside of the music drama genre which has thus far defined his career.
Category Archives: Year of Release
A Star Is Born (2018)
Wow. I really wanted to love this movie. Bradley Cooper’s debut directorial performance was so close to perfect and yet so far away at the same time. I admire his vision and ambition for this movie so much that I want to credit it even in the areas it struggled with. Watching it through the lens of a moviegoer looking for an escape rather than that of a wannabe movie critic would have allowed me to see past some of its many errors. Ultimately, however, this film was far too flawed to be a legitimate contender for Best Picture or Best Director, despite what many seem to be already predicting. I will touch on all of the good and all of the bad in what will be one of my more thorough reviews.
The Rider (2017)
The best thing going for Chloé Zhao’s (Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Nomadland) The Rider is its authenticity. The plot is not that different than hundreds of other movies you’ve seen before. Yet, it feels refreshingly new and authentic simultaneously, due primarily to the vision of the young and talented Zhao and the decisions she made along the way. This includes her hiring of locals to play all of the characters in the film, her choice of setting (Pine Ridge Indian Reservation), her hiring of cinematographer Joshua James Richards to capture the exhaustive landscape of the South Dakota reservation, and her decision of filming this to almost feel like a documentary. Every decision she made worked. Film purists will love this. Those who need the flare or forced attempts to bring out the sentiment might be disappointed. I found myself to be somewhere in the middle. The film has a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes (83% audience rating). That feels right for the critics and a little high for the audience score. I likely would not have seen this movie if a longtime friend hadn’t recommended it. While I wouldn’t say I liked it as much as she did, it was a good recommendation.
A Simple Favor (2018)
Capitalizing on the same success as 2014’s incredibly meticulous Gone Girl and 2016’s cluttered and underwhelming Girl on a Train comes Paul Feig’s (Bridesmaids, The Heat) adaptation of A Simple Favor, an adaptation of a 2017 novel by the same name. Unfortunately, this movie feels like a lousy knockoff with two Hollywood A-listers made hastily with a less-than-believable story by a director who was clearly over his head with this genre. This movie was preposterous in its concept and was only topped in absurdity by its cursory character development and inability to define a genre clearly. It leaves us asking as many questions about the movie’s style as it does its other elements.
White Boy Rick (2018)
White Boy Rick, the most hyped movie of September 2018, Yann Demange (’71), is one of the most disappointing movies of the year. The narrative could be better. The character development is almost non-existent. Matthew McConaughey (Mud, Free State of Jones) seemed as interested in attempting to earn a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination as he was trying to advance the story (I don’t blame him, as much as I do the script and the director). Newcomer Richie Merritt, who stars as the story’s lead, does his job, but the story is so askew that it leaves the audience not caring about what happens to him. The movie tries to make you feel sympathetic for its lead, but it just doesn’t work. It’s not Merritt’s fault. It wouldn’t have worked with anybody with Demange as the director. Not even the super-talented McConaughey could rescue this movie from mediocrity.
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