Film and TV Reviews and Podcasts
Ben and I continue our journey through Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list with reviews of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961) and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai (1967). We also discuss Tenet, Dazed and Confused, the latest news regarding Master of None season 3, and more.
020 is finally over and we’re here with The Obsessive Viewer’s 2020 Year in Review episode! It’s our annual episode where Tiny, Mike, and myself share our movie viewing stats for the year and our top ten favorite movies lists. So join us as we bid adieu to the shit storm that was 2020 and hope for a better 2021.
The Top 10 Films of 2020.
Overall, The Lie is a solid thriller that could have been more if it stuck its landing. The pacing is strong and the performances by Enos, King, and Sarsgaard carry the tension of the film really well. It is unfortunate that The Lie’s vagueness in respect to character motivations and a lackluster presentation of its ending ultimately holds the film back.
It’s been 6 years in the US since the latest film from Japanese master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, which means that the animation world (and yours truly) has been sorely lacking an animated film with enough style and heart to break through the candy-coated onslaught of Disney and Pixar films.
The title of director Stephen Soderbergh’s latest film feels less like a thematic summation and more like a way to describe Soderbergh’s method of approaching his subject matter. Filmed almost entirely aboard a cruise ship as it makes its way from New York to Southampton, the script reportedly consisted of minimal outlines from scene to scene, and the actors were left to improvise the rest. Soderbergh, who has made a habit lately of experimenting behind the scenes by filming entire movies on iPhones, may have finally found a gimmick that meshes successfully with his sensibilities. Of course, a film with no script can only be buoyed by the performances of its cast, and Let Them All Talk is brimming with talented actors.
George Clooney’s latest directorial effort, The Midnight Sky, tells of a world evacuated and a dying man keeping the light on to notify the last remnants of humanity. Unfortunately, what could have been a thought-provoking exploration of regret and isolation ultimately turns into a piecemeal rehash of genre and wilderness survival elements that were done much better in the films from which Clooney draws inspiration. He forsakes exposition in favor of needless ambiguity that leads to a payoff lacking the emotional resonance the film desperately needs. What’s left is a hollow and joyless expedition into the last days of Earth that’s devoid of any real intrigue.
Darius Marder makes subtle decisions that make Sound of Metal feel fresh and humanistic. The most noticeable of those decisions is the incredible sound design. Rather than portraying Ruben’s hearing loss with the same dulling of noises, each iteration we get inside Ruben’s head sounds slightly different, devolving in sound quality as his hearing ability does. After Ruben’s diagnosis, he visits a retreat for the hearing impaired – a resolution that requires some heavy coaxing from his girlfriend and bandmate, Lou (Olivia Cooke). The retreat home is run by Joe (Paul Raci), a Vietnam veteran who lost his hearing in the war and can read Ruben’s lips. Joe breaks Ruben in with a heavy dose of tough love, but Raci still makes Joe a likeable character.
Ben and I continue our journey through Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list with reviews of Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991) and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001). We also discuss the recent Elliot Page news and the surprising news regarding Warner Bros and HBOMax.
Boseman’s powerhouse performance as Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom underscores what a tremendous loss his passing was to the film community. It’s easily one of the best performances of the year and potentially the best performance of Boseman’s entire career, tragically short as it was.
In this episode, Kyrsten and I review the new monster-pocalypse Dylan O’Brien film, Love and Monsters! We also catch up on some things we’ve been watching, discuss the potential tastelessness of the upcoming COVID-themed thriller, Songbird, and finally return to our LOSTPoint series where we watch episodes of LOST and the Canadian police show Flashpoint.
In honor of Mike’s birthday coinciding with Friday the 13th, he and I cracked open the new Scream Factory Friday the 13th blu-ray collection and shared our thoughts on the franchise title by title.
Recorded October 15, 2020: In this episode, Tiny and I review some of the stuff we watched at the 29th Annual Heartland Film Festival! We covered the documentaries 76 Days, In Case of Emergency, Belly of the Beast, and When My Time Comes. We also touch on The Comey Rule, All In: The Fight for Democracy, and more.
Recorded October 15, 2020: In this episode, Tiny and I review some of the stuff we watched at the 29th Annual Heartland Film Festival! We covered the documentaries 76 Days, In Case of Emergency, Belly of the Beast, and When My Time Comes. We also touch on The Comey Rule, All In: The Fight for Democracy, and more.
Although this brilliant Cold War time bomb thriller has lived in the shadow of Kubrick’s satirical masterpiece Dr. Strangelove for decades, it’s deserving of just as much high praise. The fear and tension at play in Fail Safe is just as palpable and relevant today as it was in 1964. The film provides us with horrific solutions to impossible problems delivered through the vessel of a relatable President who commands our respect immediately. As such, it will leave you with a lot to consider and debate long after you see it.
The Obsessive Viewer 