Past Lives (2023) **
Sometimes I just don't understand all the praise. This is one of those movies where the actors put dramatic pauses between every single line. The pacing is interminable as the actors just sit and stare at each other. If you do that through the whole movie it loses its effect. Every line can't be equally important. On top of that, the characters are insanely boring. They aren't fun to be around, they aren't deep or expressive or do interesting things, and they play everything at one emotional level. It's two hours of passive longing. It's drudgery. And how do you have a three character story where one remains completely undeveloped? She only has four conversations with her husband in the entire film. They are both apparently successful writers (enough that they can live in New York without other jobs) but the most we see of any of that is his book title, even though writing is her passion in life. There are admittedly a couple of touching moments, but since these moments are played exactly the same as every other moment in the movie, they don't land. On the plus side, the cinematography and urban settings are lovely, with thankfully no handheld camera. I blame the tripod for the Best Picture nom.
Finding Fame (2019) / Five Years (2013) / The Last Five Years (2017) ***
Another frustrating Bowie documentary that's overly-focused on his 1970s work. Granted, that's the point of Five Years, which actually spans 15 years by pretty much skipping over major albums like Aladdin Sane, Station to Station, and Diamond Dogs. The Last Five Years, however, spends as much time on the 1970s as it does on his work in the 2000s, covering only three albums (and 13 years): Reality, The Next Day and Blackstar. At least it calls back to Diamond Dogs. Finding Fame is the best overall, exploring his life before becoming successful and showing that the legend didn't just appear out of nowhere, but creating "David Bowie" was a long and calculated effort. Of course, what's missing is the entire 20 years between Let's Dance and Reality that nobody ever talks about, even though it may be the most artistically challenging and diverse period of his life. I guess it says something that 4.5 hours isn't even enough to properly survey Bowie's career. Perhaps director Francis Whately will get around to those missing years eventually?
Total Recall (1990) ****
Total Recall's a dumb movie wrapped up in a smart movie, which makes it hard to criticize. There's definitely a POV problem that weakens the whole concept, and it stretches Schwartzenegger's acting abilities to the max, but most complaints you would normally lodge against a film are only here because Arnold's character bought a cheesy, dumb secret agent vacation. Maybe he should have paid for more upgrades? Thankfully the dumb movie is made as entertaining as possible, and the smart movie doesn't get in the way of that. You get what you paid for. I would have preferred a better actor that could still handle the action (Harrison Ford?) but maybe Arnold walks that line between good and bad that the movie needs. He sure grunts a lot, though. I wish there was a Basil Pouledouris soundtrack.
Death Wish (1974) ****
It's a basic revenge story that's elevated by Michael Winner's well-paced editing and direction, some glorious urban squalor, and the way it complicates the vigilante storyline to include its effect on the entire city (or the entire world according to the film). Highly controversial at the time for its violence, it's laughably tame but still compelling today. It was a time trip just watching the extras in the background. The early 70s might have had some of the worst fashion and interior design of the 20th century. If Total Recall stretched Arnold's acting abilities to the max, this does the same for the very limited Charles Bronson, but I like how he isn't just a remorseless killing machine (which is what I suspect the sequels are) and shows a believable character arc. I also don't feel safe knowing that hoodlum Jeff Goldbum is still out there wandering the streets.
The Long Hot Summer (1958) ****
Orson Welles lords over a small Southern town and drifter Paul Newman offers to do his dirty work, but they don't spend a lot of time on hick mafia shenanigans because Welles really just wants to marry off his daughter and get him some heirs, so Newman takes his shirt off for some steamy romance. There were so many Southern dynasty dramas in the 50s and 60s that it's hard to tell them apart. This one's most notable for pairing Newman and Woodward for the first time. Based on multiple Faulkner stories, it's a well-acted drama made better by some sharp dialogue. Newman and Woodward are terrific, along with Anthony Franciosa. Welles is out of place playing a man 20 years older with bad makeup that changes in every shot and unintelligible dialogue. Apparently he didn't want to do ADR because he thought he was teaching those young method actors how to mumble.
Total Recall