#2016 films

[dolorygloria]

MOONLIGHT (dir. Barry Jenkins, 2016)

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

August: Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Warcraft: The Beginning / Ruth Negga as Queen Taria Wrynn

This beautiful grey velvet dress appears in the epilogue, at the king's funeral. Queen Taria was a new character created for the movie, meaning there was no animated version to draw upon and they could design her look from scratch. It's hard to see in the actual film, but she has the lion of Stormwind worked into the back of the gown!

[meep-meep-richie]

Putting Owen in these boots but no cowboy hat is the real crime

[verecore]

[gmzriver]

Emma Roberts as Venus/ Vee Delmonico in “Nerve” icons.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Swiss Army Man (2016)

There’s no other movie quite like Swiss Army Man but the film isn’t merely weird for weirdness’ sake. Beneath all the farts, the absurd dark comedy and the plot points that make you question whether what you’re seeing is really happening or not, there’s an emotional, introspective story. It’s surprising in the most unexpected ways.

Marooned on a deserted island, Hank Thompson (Paul Dano) is about to commit suicide when he notices a body (Daniel Radcliffe) wash up on the beach. His attempts to resuscitate him fail but whether “Manny” is alive or dead… isn’t easily discernable. For instance, he farts A LOT. After a spark of inspiration, Hank uses Manny's flatulence to propel them both through the water back toward civilization. It turns out Manny is full of surprises and unusual skills.

Part of the fun of Swiss Army Man is that it constantly bowls you over with the seemingly endless array of absurd skills Manny brings to the table. You'd think the joke would get old, but it doesn’t because you’re continuously surprised. I can’t even imagine what sort of reaction you’d get showing isolated clips of Swiss Army Man to an unsuspecting viewer because even once you've acclimated yourself to this film, it still stuns you.

Maybe the joke doesn’t get old because this movie’s not about the body that can do whatever the situation calls for it to do. As Hank readies himself for his return to civilization, he teaches Manny about everything that's waiting for them. By doing this, he's forced to look back on himself. We don’t know what circumstances brought Hank to that deserted island but we assume he was about to hang himself because he saw no escape and figured he was going to die of starvation/thirst sooner rather than later. Knowing now what I do about him… I’m not so sure. As he explains to Manny everything there is to know about movies, love, food and his big crush (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), we learn that Hank was lonely, very sad and kind of pathetic. This adventure might be the best thing that ever happened to him.

A movie like Swiss Army Man defies the conventions we’re used to, which means you really can’t see where the story is going. As we approach the conclusion, you’re glued to the screen because reality is coming your way like a truck full of bricks and you’re chained to the radiator. There’s no getting out of the way. What’s the impact going to be like? Will it be as devastating as you suspect? All I can say is that the ending is perfect. It reinforces everything we saw before and yet somehow, you don’t see it coming. Written and directed by Daniel Sceinert and Daniel Kwan, this is a movie you won’t forget. It’s so bizarre it threatens to alienate the audience but it’s also so well acted and unexpectedly emotional! I know you might be apprehensive, but at least give it a try and see if this roll of the dice is your cup of tea. (August 9, 2022)

[tumorousfilm]

SWISS ARMY MAN (2016)

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (7/10)

[morganhopesmith1996]

The La La Land soundtrack and score is freakin beautiful!

[rookie-critic]

Hell or High Water (2016, dir. David Mackenzie) - review by Rookie-Critic

Hell or High Water was excellent. Taylor Sheridan sure knows how to write a damn good script. I've now seen all 3 of Sheridan's Frontier Trilogy of films (the other two being Denis Villeneuve's Sicario and the Sheridan-directed Wind River) and there are times when Hell or High Water is more straightforwardly entertaining than Sicario, but overall I think Denis' masterful touch just gives Sicario the edge on being the best of the 3. The acting is impeccable: Ben Foster is excellent at playing a crazy son of a bitch, Jeff Bridges is, as always, great at playing the old timer stuck in his ways, and Chris Pine proves yet again that he is one of the most underrated and underappreciated actors of the modern era. The social commentary is heavy-handed without being preachy or too in your face and the cinematography captures the beautiful West Texas landscape in almost mural-like fashion. Just a well written, well acted, and well directed neo-Western.

Score: 9/10

Currently streaming on Netflix.

[thejewofkansas]

O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA Review - ****

Hearing about the death of O.J. Simpson, I decided to go ahead and publish a fuller review of the brilliant documentary that sums up his life, his career, and the social context in which his trial occurred, leaving little room in my mind that he was, indeed, guilty. This was what I wrote in a capsule review in February 2017: 467 minutes, and it scarcely drags. A story most of us know far too…

[deputyrook]

“It is women who love horror. Gloat over it. Feed on it. Are nourished by it. Shudder and cling and cry out-and come back for more.” ― Bela Lugosi

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

January: Red Redux

Love and Friendship / Kate Beckinsale as Lady Susan Vernon

In the country, Lady Susan continues to wear demure mourning gowns, but on a trip to London, she lets loose with this spectacular ruby-red satin.

Costume Designer Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh had this to say about the costumes for this film, which were apparently done on quite a tight budget:

"So this is a little novella that she [Jane Austen] wrote, one of the first things that she wrote, so it’s set earlier than most of her big novels like Pride and Prejudice and all of those. So we decided to set the film a little bit earlier also, like late 1780s or 1790s, so the fashion between 1790 or even the mid 1790s really changed quite dramatically. A lot of it was influenced by the French revolution, historical events that were happening at the time.... I really kind of pushed for setting it in the late 1780s. It’s a comedy as well, these big dresses, these really lend themselves to--there’s such a drama about those costumes. I just felt  that it would really add to the performance, the door would open and she went swoosh into the room (laugh) and this huge dress, o my gosh, these dresses are built for something like this, for drama and comedy and fun."

[indigomood]

The Handmaiden (2016) dir. Park Chan-wook

[verecore]

Kubo, Monkey and Beetle.

'Kubo and the two strings'

Laika 2016

[bibluebutterfly]

I’m sorry but it’s absolutely hilarious and yet adorable how the series handles Broppy’s relationship. First we get them traveling together as rivals (which was a bit more one- sided on Branch’s part) before slowing learning how to work together and to change for the other. Also it’s heavily implied Branch has an underline crush on Poppy. Then we get True Colors, and everyone thinks “okay they’re in love now”.

Some people/audience members are on board, others not so much. BUT THEN it turns out that the “I love you” they say to each other was a PLATONIC love confession. Like “you’re my friend, and I value you.” Which is still sweet, but was unexpected. (Though it does explain why the writers decided to put another platonic love confession scene between Bridget and Poppy. Yeah, I get it now)

So they just go through the journey as bffs who have feelings for each other but won’t say anything. And again, they learn how to work and grow together as a team and make the necessary changes to benefit the other. And then FINALLY we get the romantic love confession.

But it doesn’t stop there, oh no. Now we get adventure #3, this time with them as a full on couple. And they are actually really cute. Actually the film doesn’t focus that much on their relationship but we see hints of how they are as a couple.

Poppy is still all over the place but she’s much less in her own head and far more open to listening and being a good girlfriend.

Branch on the other hand is still occasionally getting exasperated by her energy but this time also has an appreciation for it. Also he learns to open up to her a little more and she’s there to listen and accept him with open arms. (Bonus points to their flirty dynamic because wow. They were adorable here.)

And it’s ONLY THEN (7 years after the first film) when they get their first on screen kiss.

Anyway. In conclusion: Trolls is the slowest slow burn I have ever seen in a Dreamworks trilogy.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Diverge (2016)

Diverge will make you wish you had a time machine so you can either warn yourself not to watch it or travel into the future to when the film is over, which might be something like 3 hours? Oh, wait. it only clocks in at 85 minutes. It only FEELS like it lasts half a day because the film is so boring.

In a post-apocalyptic world, a strange disease has wiped out most of humanity. Chris Towne (Ivan Sandomire) is sent back in time by a scientist (Jamie Jackson as Dimitri Tarkov) to save his wife and in the process, all of humankind.

Written, directed and edited by James Morrison (in his directorial debut), the film sort of plays out like a bargain-bin 12 Monkeys. We begin with Chris and his wife Anna (Erin Cunningham) wandering through a seemingly endless salt flat. The implication is that the earth has dried up… but wait. A biological disease that kills people (and cows) caused the apocalypse, not some heat wave. What’s going on? Anyway, soon after, Anna dies and Chris is sent back in time against his will. Of all the people who might’ve survived the end of the world, one is the inventor of a time machine and the other is the person who unwillingly fumbled the cure that could’ve prevented this whole thing from happening? What are the odds? I know, I know. The plot’s got to happen somehow but we’re talking the first fifteen minutes of the film and already, things are looking wobbly. Still, I won't dock points for that.

Plot holes and contrivances are not the film’s downfall. The biggest sin Diverge commits is the biggest sin any movie can commit: it’s boring. Chris is not an interesting protagonist. All he does is meekly wander around, trying his best to accomplish his mission without ever stressing out or even running. The most enthusiasm he shows is when he catches a glimpse of his wife. The past version of the character is similarly dull. As for the film’s villain, he's wholly unnecessary and cut from the same cloth as Umbrella Corp. but way less fun. It isn’t uncommon for science-fiction stories to be a little light on the character development; they’re often about the plot rather than the characters. The thing is that Diverge has such a basic plot there’s just nothing for you to latch onto. Yes, Chris is going back in time to save the world. We’ve seen that before. So. Many. Times. It’s not enough but this film acts as if it is.

You’ll be so desperate for some substance you’ll find yourself rewriting the movie. What if future Chris wanted to kill and replace his younger version because now, he’s matured and become a better person? If that sounds wild, it wouldn’t be unprecedented in this film. At one point, Dimitri travels back in time so he can kill his past self and take his place. “Woah! Spoiler alert!” you might say but I disagree because this event doesn’t affect Chris or the plot in any way whatsoever.

Although I struggled to stay awake during Diverge (a terrible title by the way), I won’t call it wholly devoid of merit. As a first film, it’s well-shot and makes pretty good use of its (surely) minuscule budget. Sometimes, a bad movie proves the people in charge are complete hacks. Though Diverge is unimaginative, unengaging and unmemorable, this is not one of those cases. (July 29, 2022)