tomazulob Reviews

We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021)

An Exercise in Supplanted Paranoia

[6/10 · 16 February 2023]

A teenager named Casey (Anna Cobb) decides to try her hand at a video challenge known as We're All Going to the World's Fair. She has heard of how oddly people have been influenced by this challenge; so, she decides to record her "changes" as it progresses. Along the way she encounters a presence that talks to her sporadically. What is different, albeit at times rather tiresome, is the approach the writer and director of the film (Jane Schoenbrun) uses. She employs a minimum of characters while focusing largely on Casey and her unknown communicator, using a camera at times that is being held (via phone most likely) to chronicle this journey. It is effective in capturing the paranoia that creeps in to her psyche as she experiences mental changes. I will be curious to see what Schoenbrun does next.

Tár (2022)

En-Tar-ly Blanchett

[8/10 · 16 February 2023]

Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is an up-and-coming conductor who is in the process of preparing for a live concert to be recorded for DG (Deutsch Grammophon), one of the, if not THE, leading labels for classical music. Her intelligence and almost obsessive love for her profession shines and is best shown in one of the early scenes in which she confronts a student who makes a moral stance against JS Bach's music because of his lifestyle. In that scene, one can see a great actress at the top of her craft. Tár's personal life is then entered into picture, and slowly the audience sees the issues she has. The past starts to catch up to her, leading to her need to deal with past issues. I was a much bigger fan of Blanchett's performance than I was of the story, but both are pretty strong, which explains how both are up for Academy Awards. I have 2 more nominated movies to watch and one more leading actress performance to watch. This is either number one or two of each category so far IMHO.

A Love Song (2022)

Sweet and Thought-Provoking

[8/10 · 29 January 2023]

A woman has parked her travel trailer in a Colorado park, waiting for a childhood friend to meet her there. The woman proceeds to meet a collection of odd residents/workders but no childhood friend for quiet a while. The film started out as a kind of Waiting for Godot setup, but it became a study in loneliness of people whose past lives seem to be disappearing. The film reminded me of Nomadland with its haunting loneliness and hopelessness of its characters, but A Love Song took a different turn and avoided the hopelessness. Still, the two main actors (Dale Dickey and Wes Studi) are recognizable from their innumerable background acting roles in past features and come across and relatable and true characters--i.e. Real human beings. This quiet indie film offered a lot of subtle thought-provoking ideas, particularly to people like me who are entering our 60's and 70's. It was a sweet film.

Elvis (2022)

Meh

[6/10 · 29 January 2023]

I resisted watching this movie because 1) I'm not a fan of this guy, 2) it was bad enough to see films that Elvis did himself, and 3) I lived during this guy's rise and fall; so, I did not expect anything new. Assuming that the movie is somewhat accurate, I did learn a few things about him. Then, the Oscar nominations came out and Austin Butler (who played Elvis) was very good in this and got a Best Actor nomination, and the movie was nominated for Best Picture. Tom Hanks played Col. Tom Parker, but that role had nothing for him to work with. I have read critiques of Hanks's misfires in this film, but I don't think he had much to work with, as this guy was just a slime ball and there was no wiggle room to make this guy look like anything but a slime ball. The film was okay--just okay--and should never have been nominated for Best Picture. This was an excellent year for films, but this was not one of them.

Nothing Compares (2022)

Powerful Then, Powerful Now

[9/10 · 29 January 2023]

In 1987, 20-year-old Sinead O'Connor released an album called The Lion and the Cobra, which I heard and immediately made it part of my music library. Her voice was like nothing I had ever heard before: powerful, emotional, and pained. I played that thing to death. Her next album had the Prince song "Nothing Compares to You". Wow! The raw emotion in that song was off the charts. Then her bit on Saturday Night Live stopped her world-wide popularity in its tracks. This documentary follows her life history, which was heavily influenced by the male-dominated religion in Ireland. It ripped her mother apart, which led to Sinead's abuse. The video explains her anger with the Catholic church and its abuse that was displayed in various forms all around that country. Her anger helped influence an entire country's women to lead to the transformation of a country that is acceptant of all people. This is a difficult movie because her anger and the visceral anger of the men around the world toward her for being herself was painful to watch. In the end, people now understand more what her anger was about.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Brutal Lesson in Taking Advantage of and Stealing Youth

[9/10 · 29 January 2023]

I have seen a bajillion pictures and read a lot of accounts about WWI. It was brutal. It was devastating. It was unnecessary, but rich men and their human toys stirred up the nationalistic fervor in the many countries that created this insanity. My grandfather fought in it, but I was not old enough to hear his stories, which, depending upon what I was told, would have been a fascinating perspective. I have hated the glorification of war films because we have a segment of society that get off on that kind of thing. They will avoid this, but they really should not. There is nothing positive about these poor pawns, caught up in the propaganda of the time. The first few scenes are perfect in describing how the young got caught up in the push for recruits, which they deeply regretted after they started fighting. By the end, the lines between the two forces hardly moved in 5 years of fighting, prompting the question--what was the point? People should watch this film to understand that the people generally pushing conflict rarely get their shoes dirty, much less do any actual fighting. I won't watch this again. It's brutal. It's sad. It's disgusting, but it is well done.

Pilgrimage (II) (2017)

Could Have. . .Should Have. . .Did not

[5/10 · 26 July 2020]

Brother Diarmuid (Tom Holland) and a mute (Jon Bernthal) are traveling with a band of monks through Ireland in 1209 after being ordered by the Holy See to bring a holy relic. Naturally, since it is the dark ages, there are innumerable obstacles to overcome in order to be successful, not the least is getting past French invading forces led by Raymond de Merville (Richard Armitage). This had a great premise with beautiful yet dreary Middle-Aged depression scenery, but the beautiful premise turned into a video-game storyline. Very disappointing, but some might enjoy the little things they did in here to keep the story moving, but it could have been really, really good. Sigh.

Beatriz at Dinner (2017)

Not a Fan of Virginia Woolf

[6/10 · 17 July 2017]

Selma Hayek and John Lithgow are treasures in the acting community. Ms. Hayek played a struggling middle-class woman with middle-class problems after dealing with issues when she was exceedingly poor. Mr. Lithgow shows incredible nuance in his performance as an ultra-rich developer. The two had me riveted. And then the ending occurred. . .

No matter what the political views (and wow, some hyper-political people absolutely did not like this film, as shown in some of the reviews on this site), the discussions at the dinner were spot on in describing what is going on in the world. However, Mike White, the screenwriter, seemed to be as frustrated as Beatriz and did not know how to end this satisfactorily; so, he resorted to a trite ending that would have made Virginia Woolf proud. I don't like the message he gave at the end. I was not looking for a happy ending--that would have been unrealistic--but there are other creative options he could have gone with.

Bottom line, Beatriz at Dinner reminded me of many of Stephen King screen adaptations: Great build-up, totally unsatisfying ending.

Romance (1999)

Rough but Insightful

[8/10 · 5 August 2009]

My reaction to this film began before it started. I, as a male, am always curious to watch a film about the relationship of a couple, and particularly in the eyes of a woman, when the movie is written and directed by a woman. In this case, Catherine Breillat has presented this with the thoughts of the female lead throughout the film. I find myself struggling to be judgmental of the film from a male perspective, but I am left with a number of questions.

The sexuality did not bother me. The presentation of a dysfunctional relationship and the dynamics as presented to an outsider were very well done. I, myself, would never allow myself a great deal of time to a relationship like this, but then this was not about me. What was about me was my reaction to the brutality. The woman experienced a number of humiliations and learned to shut out those humiliations to maintain her individuality. And I have read a number of reports that stated that a large number of women experience sexual humiliation in various ways. Would this explain why rape is included as a revenge against the male and against her? This is not the first film by a woman that uses this. It disturbed me, as I am sure it was meant to do, but I came away thinking that if this is wrong, why present it as something all women should encounter? At any rate, the philosophy of the film and the presentation were very good. If you want an interesting take on a dysfunctional relationship that does not involve rednecks or harsh urban settings, you will probably find this interesting.

Sicko (2007)

Family Values

[10/10 · 14 September 2007]

Rarely does one watch a film that challenges oneself to question the values of his/her society. This is definitely one of the most important films in that genre. When he asks us what kind of people are we, one has to look within his/her soul to answer that question. Michael Moore, that vilified documentarian by certain parts of society who proclaim family values, puts forth an argument about the need for a national health-care system by looking at the history of our system, the cold-hearted faults of that system, the systems of other countries, and the treatment of our true heroes and simple middle-class families by our own government and the health-care system that partially owns our government. He lays out his argument in a wonderful style that debunks most arguments that detractors have been using for years. The coup de grace is the ending in which Moore puts his money where his mouth is. It literally had me crying in admiration and wonder after sniffling in shame for our profit-at-all-cost attitude throughout this country. If you did not know anything about Moore before this movie, you would be an admirer. If you disliked him before now, you would be hard-pressed to argue with him after this wonderful work of art and social conscience. Families, companies, and organizations that employ workers are finding that the time has come to include a national health care plan as a part of their family values as the costs are overrunning them all. They need to look no farther than this film for the strong argument for starting the process.