Hi, it's me again. In March, I broke my leg and had surgery...but the surgery didn't take and so here I am again, recovering from a second surgery to hopefully actually fix my leg this time.
What does this mean for movie-watching? Well, it means I can't really see movies in the theatre until I'm at least able to walk in a boot. Which really sucks because I wanted to see Luca Guadagnino's Bones and All in the threatre and might not be able to. But I will hopefully be able to catch it before I make my "Best Of 2022" list in January since it seems like the kind of movie a sicko like me would enjoy.
EDIT: I rented Bones and All! Read my review here.
For now, here are some movies and shows I've watched on streaming while my bitch-ass leg recovers...
***
Soft & Quiet
This movie fucked me up. Like, I lost sleep over this movie. Not because it's "scary" in the traditional way, but because it is one of the most intense, emotionally jarring movies I've ever seen. I hadn't even heard of it until I watched a YouTube video about "disturbing thrillers". In that video, the reviewer doesn't reveal the main conceit of the film and so I won't ruin it for you here either. The most basic plot description is: an elementary school teacher, Emily, convenes a meeting of like-minded women. When they move to another location to keep the wine flowing, they run into a woman from Emily's past and things get...insanely intense.
The film is also shot in real time and in one take, adding to the realism and intensity. If you like disturbing thrillers in the vein as Funny Games and Speak No Evil, I recommend checking out this movie and going in as blind as possible. If you're curious about it but sensitive to, well, basically anything that would be triggering to the average Joe, I recommend doing a little research to see if it's something you can handle.
My only criticism is that there are parts of the film that strain believability. In the sense that I think some characters wouldn't behave/do some of the things they do. Otherwise, a fantastic, timely, devastating film.
Grade: A-
***
Profile
I also watched this movie because it was on that "disturbing thrillers" YouTube video. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, Profile is about a British journalist who pretends to be a new convert to Islam in order to catfish an ISIS recruiter into spilling his secrets.
The entire film takes place via computer, similar to movies like Unfriended, Host, and Searching. I will admit that I'm a sucker for this gimmick. I even watched the movie on my laptop to give it a more "authentic" feeling. The form of Profile is the best thing about it.
The movie itself strikes me as wildly unrealistic. Now, I'll admit I know next to nothing about ISIS recruitment of young, white women from Britain and the United States, but the amount of red flags Amy (Valene Kane) immediately gives off to Bilel (Shazad Latif) would clearly signal she's not sincere. On the flip side, the movie tries to convince us that Amy starts having actual feelings for Bilel, which just...ugh. Yeah, I could see that happening for women who *actually* want to be recruited, but for a journalist who is putting on a show? Although Bilel is more than a two-dimensional scary terrorist guy, you don't forget for a moment that he's...a scary terrorist guy! It feels like the movie is leaning into the "women can't resist a bad boy" trope.
Is the movie Islamophobic? Ehh...it definitely toes the line. I mean, these are ISIS recruiters and, as @dril famously tweeted, "You do not, in fact, have to hand it to ISIS". I don't think it's Islamophobic to portray terrorists as terrorists...however, since there is the whole "white woman pretending to be attracted to a scary Middle Eastern man" element in Profile, I think the movie still preys on Western fears (and desires) of Middle Easterners. Put it this way: the movie is a gimmicky thriller, not a nuanced look at Middle Eastern politics. Anyone who already thinks all Muslims are scary or backwards won't have their minds changed by this film.
Profile is entertaining for what it is, but it's not one you *have* to watch.
Grade: B-
***
His House
His House, directed by Remi Weekes, has been on my watchlist for a while and all I can say is that I'm glad I watched it during daylight hours. The scares in this movie are INTENSE. Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) are refugees fleeing from war-torn Sudan to England with their daughter, Nyagak. During the trip, Nyagak falls off of the boat they're on and drowns.
Dazed and grieving, Bol and Rial make it to England and are given shabby government housing to stay in as the begin they process of applying for citizenship. They are warned to not move out of this housing, or they will be forced to return to immigration detention and possibly deported. Too bad the house is haunted AF!
While Bol tries hard to assimilate by purchasing more "western" clothes, watching football games in the local pubs, and eating every meal with cutlery, Rial continues to hold on to her culture, preferring to eat with her hands, wear clothes similar to what she wore in Sudan, and speak to her husband in her native language. This leads to tension between the couple. Additionally, both Rial and Bol are tormented by something in the house that takes the form of their dead daughter or other ghastly figures. Rial believes what they're seeing is an apeth--a night witch haunting them for misdeeds they committed in their native country. Bol just represses everything until he nearly loses his mind.
His House is a deeply layered film which touches on the vulnerability of being an immigrant, racism, and how one's demons can follow you no matter where you go. This movie is really good and really scary!
Grade: B+
***
Dublin Murders
This 8 episode series mashes together two of Tana French's "Dublin Murder Squad" series: In The Woods and The Likeness. Detectives Rob Reilly (Killian Scott) and Cassie Maddox (Sarah Greene) are called to the scene of a crime in which a 13 year old girl was murdered in the woods behind a housing estate. Rob grew up in the same estate (basically the Irish version of subsidized housing) and also lost two friends to the very same woods when he was young. Those friends disappeared after witnessing something awful and their bodies were never found. Rob's family moved to England and changed their name. The only person who knows about Rob's history is Cassie, since he would never be allowed to work in the murder department if the truth was known.
A b-plot involves the murder of a twenty-something woman who looks exactly like Cassie. Since Cassie used to work undercover, her old boss pressures her into assuming the identity of the dead woman and moving back in with the woman's housemates to get to the bottom of the murder. Pretty dumb idea, right!?
Dublin Murders was very entertaining with great acting, especially Killian Scott as the tortured Rob. They really didn't need to cram two plots into one series, but this was still a comforting watch for the first leg (heh) of my recovery.
Grade: B+
***
The White Lotus, season 2
If you want to enjoy The White Lotus, you have to be ok watching rich people behave badly and not always receive comeuppance. I really enjoyed the first season, which is set in Hawaii, and is filled with entitled brats treating "the help" like crap.
The second season takes place in Sicily, with the only returning characters being Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) and Greg (Jon Gries).
Season 2 is less juicy, but also perhaps more nuanced than the first season. There is less drama overall, except for Tanya's storyline. Aubrey Plaza is a standout as Harper, the wife of a newly rich man, Ethan, who feels a lot of wariness towards their new financial status. Additionally, Meghann Fahy is also excellent as Daphne, the wife of Cameron, Ethan's best friend from college (the couples are vacationing together). She appears at first to be a clueless, entitled housewife, but over time you discover she's smarter, more canny, and--frankly--a lot more fun than she appears at first blush.
Overall, a fun "good-trashy" watch ("good-trashy" = well-made, but thematically trashy) that doesn't say anything interesting or new about rich people.
Grade: B+
***
A Little Princess
Sometimes ya girl just wants to watch a really sweet movie! Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, 1995's A Little Princess was a childhood favorite of mine. Rewatching it now, I have to say that it holds up for the most part. Sara Crewe (Liesel Matthews) is a preteen who lives with her father, Captain Richard Crewe (Liam Cunningham), in India. It's 1914, so India is under British rule (an issue definitely NOT addressed in the movie!). When WWI begins, Richard is called to go to war. He sends Sara to a girl's boarding school in New York City--the same school her (dead) mother went to as a girl.
The school is run by the comically evil Miss Maria Minchin (Eleanor Bron, a veteran actress hamming it up in this role). Miss Minchin is extremely strict, but treats Sara well because her father is rich. Sara is very popular among the girls because she's kind to everyone, both the bullies and unpopular girls alike, and because she tells wonderful stories. But when word of Captain Crewe's death (and the seizure of his financial assets) reaches Miss Minchin, she strips Sara of everything she owns and forces her to work as a servant girl alongside Becky, the Black servant that no one except Sara is kind to.
Despite some troubling racial representation (there is a "magical Indian" gentleman who lives next door to the school, and Liam Cunningham also plays an Indian prince in Sara's stories), A Little Princess is overflowing with values you would want any child (or adult) to be exposed to, namely, the importance of giving to others. Sara Crewe (a bit too angelic to be believed) gives generously to everyone, even when she has nothing. One of the most heart-tugging scenes in the film is when Sara is forced to be a servant to Miss Minchin and is given some money on the street (since she looks poor) while running errands. She buys herself a delicious pastry with the coin, but then sees a mother and three young children begging. She gives them the pastry. *SOB*
But because she gives so generously, others give generously back to Sara in her darkest times...and, of course, the move has a happy ending (which I won't spoil here). Between gorgeous cinematography, an enchanting soundtrack, and some really excellent child acting, A Little Princess is a movie that both children and adults can enjoy and benefit from watching.
Grade: A
***
The Secret Garden
1993's The Secret Garden is another childhood favorite of mine, and similar in many ways to A Little Princess (for one, they are both based on books written by Frances Hodgson Burnett). I loved the idea of living in an enormous, old mansion filled with rooms to explore. However, I didn't love the idea of having both your parents die when you're 12 years old.
That's what happens to Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly). She lives with her parents in India (again, the colonialism remains uncommented on and unexplored), but when they die in an earthquake, Mary is sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor on the cold moors of Yorkshire, England. The housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock, is played brilliantly by Dame Maggie Smith in just a classic Maggie Smith role: Medlock is mean, cold, and prudish. She has no idea how to interact with children, let alone the spoiled and deeply traumatized Mary.
But when Mary is forced to play outside, day after day, she discovers a garden behind a locked door. She finds the key in her dead aunt's bedroom and explores the garden with Dickon, the brother of housemaid Martha. At the same time, Mary discovers she has a cousin, Colin Craven, a supposedly sick boy who is kept hidden away from everyone. Colin's mother fell off a swing while pregnant with him and Colin was born prematurely. Then, his mother died. Lord Craven (played by John Lynch) was so brokenhearted by the death of his wife, he refused to see his infant son, afraid he would also die and thus double Craven's suffering. But 12 years later, Colin is still alive...though he is convinced he'll die very soon.
With Mary's encouragement, Colin begins to embrace life. He eventually goes out in a wheelchair to the secret garden, which is blooming with flowers. He then learns to walk, having never left his bed in 12 years.
Like A Little Princess, The Secret Garden has a gorgeous soundtrack and eye-popping cinematography. The only negative aspect of the film is that Mary and Colin are truly bratty. They order servants around, yell at each other, and throw tantrums. It makes sense, given that they are unloved and ignored, but it gets old after a while. Still, this is another great classic for both kids and adults.
Grade: A-
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