Film and TV Reviews and Podcasts
In this episode, Mike and I welcome Mike’s band mate, and creative life partner, Dustin Mattingly onto the show to discuss the new MCU show on Disney+, WandaVision.
In this episode, Ben and I continue our series reviewing the films from Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list. In this edition, we cover Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru, and Agnes Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7.
Fred Hampton’s story is a worthwhile one to be shown on screen, not only because it is inherently dramatic, but because of its relevance to the struggles of minorities today. Thank goodness he has a steady hand in King to tell it, and capable performances to show who he really was.
Filmmakers tend to take on projects in familiar genres for one of two reasons: One could be to explore a previously untapped or underutilized element of the genre. The other could be to put their own personal spin on the material. Martin Scorcese explored the long-lasting effects of the typically short-lived life of crime in The Irishman. Ryan Coogler imprinted the Black experience on Black Panther. Even last year, the time-loop genre went through a reinvention of sorts with Palm Springs. I’m not saying that the release of The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is hindered by its proximity to Palm Springs; rather, it’s that it has hardly anything new to say, in a genre with fairly limited breathing room to begin with.
In this episode, Ben and I share our thoughts on the 2021 Golden Globe nominations and chat with Dean Kapsalis, whose cerebral character-driven psychological thriller The Swerve is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Many elements of AppleTV+’s Palmer will probably seem familiar to many of its viewers, but the film still does offer some redeeming qualities. Fortunately, director Fisher Stevens imbues the film with enough heart, and fills the cast with capable actors from top to bottom, to get past any glaring issues.
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.
The Obsessive Viewer 