#MWi2017: eyes of laura mars

[krokodile]

movies watched in 2017

wonder woman - it was...fine?  i liked it more than i’ve liked any other superhero movie, and the character driven bits (and some of the action sequences) kept my attention, but the longer fight sequences had me dozing off.  these types of movies just aren’t my thing.  as far as they go, though, this had more things for me to like than most of them do, and damn, gal gadot is charming af.

power rangers - the nostalgia movie boom seems to have skipped directly over my childhood.  transformers was a bit before my time; power rangers was a bit after.  but this movie looked entertaining enough for me to check it out, and...yeah, it was.  obviously i didn’t get any of the references or have any idea of how it worked as an adaptation, but as a kids’ action flick, it had a fair bit of heart and some really good performances.  god help me i am really starting to like elizabeth banks, which...if you’d told me this ten years ago, or even two years ago, i would’ve called you a damn dirty liar.  is it me, though, or was there not a ton of actual action?  not a complaint on my end, but i feel like it might have been for the people there for the nostalgia, or little kids there to watch the power rangers kick ass.  

the perfect host - i loved this so much i immediately made my mother sit down and watch it.  david hyde pierce is just the fucking greatest thing ever in this.  it’s also pretty damn amusing to realize that this character is, really, just what would happen if niles crane just snapped one day.  it’s a shitton of fun and i can’t recommend it enough.

war for the planet of the apes - really enjoyed it.  as with rise, i regret not seeing it on the big screen; it looks awesome.  andy serkis continues to be perfect.  woody harrelson is disturbingly hot as amon goeth but with apes.  i’m not proud of that last sentence but things are what they are.  the kid playing nova (who looks startlingly like a small linda harrison) is an absolute star - no dialogue, acting opposite a bunch of dudes in mocap suits, and you believe every fucking second of her performance just from her face.  it didn’t even OCCUR to me until the movie was over that, oh right, there weren’t actually apes there.  which also says a lot about just how goddamn well-acted those apes are.  i already mentioned andy serkis, but karin konoval deserves every bit as much credit and praise as maurice.  it’s not my type of film - rise was the one from this trilogy that was more my cup of tea - but it’s so flawlessly done that i really loved it regardless.

wind river - look, i hate that guy who says “this film is important.”  i don’t want to be that guy.  but i have to be that guy.  this film is important.  you need to see it, and with the understanding that this is based on a true story in more than one respect.  as the film takes care to point out, native women are the one demographic for whom missing persons records are not kept.  this is loosely based one on person’s precise experience, yes, but it’s also the truth of thousands of native women no one ever looked for; women whose families never had the hope of closure, let alone justice.  it’s the truth of countless women who are treated as objects by white men, who are raped, who are murdered and who are conveniently forgotten by law enforcement.  in 1978, the supreme court declared that white people couldn’t be arrested and prosecuted by native people for crimes committed on native land, and it’s only as of 2015 that non-native men can now be prosecuted through the tribal courts for domestic assault against native women.  

it’s also just excellent as a film.  i do understand the potential issues with having the main character be a white guy, and “white savior” complaints wouldn’t be out of line.  but i also have a feeling that the studio likely didn’t think this film would find an audience at all without a white lead, and they’d probably be correct.  jeremy renner, for what it’s worth, does well with the character, and while we didn’t really need the liam-neeson-in-taken-esque turn at the top of the mountain, it’s about what you’d expect from taylor sheridan.  

elizabeth olsen...can someone be declared a revelation twice?  because every fucking SECOND of her performance is flawless.  she won me over in martha marcy may marlene, and she’s grown so much as an artist since then.  her character is also well-used near the end of the film to pull focus away from the white leads to refocus on the victim, and...fucking hell, that scene should’ve earned olsen an oscar nomination.  it won’t; this film is criminally ignored.  whether it’s because of the weinstein connection or just because hollywood has hit its quota of “minorities in america” films for this year and the white powers that be have lost interest, i couldn’t tell you.  

the supporting cast, as well, is just spectacular.  gil birmingam is the unsung backbone of this film and his performance is glorious, managing to be both passionate and understated.  graham greene is impossible likable with amazing delivery.  martin sensmeier doesn’t have much screentime, but the minutes he does have are absolutely gutting.  teo briones has only a few scenes as jeremy renner’s half-native son, but he makes a real impression (and is the son of jon jon briones, which you have to love; i guess crazy talent runs in the family).  and kelsey asbille is given precious few minutes to make us fall in love with a young woman we all know is doomed, and she manages easily, although the fact that she isn’t actually native gives me some pause with regard to her being cast.  still, she does a great job with the role.  

it looks incredible.  taylor sheridan isn’t the person i would have expected to write or direct this one, but damned if he didn’t do some amazing work.  this movie deserves to be seen.  

personal shopper - if this movie doesn’t stop people from having that weird “kristen stewart can’t act” belief, i suppose nothing will.  this is her best performance yet, and yes i did see clouds of sils maria; she’s somehow managed to outdo her work in that film.  loved the movie for all its weirdness.  never knew what the fuck was going to happen from one moment to the next and i appreciate that.

eyes of laura mars - i can’t tell if this movie was supposed to be taken seriously or not.  i have that issue with faye dunaway movies a lot though.

amityville: the awakening - i’ve never liked an amityville movie - i  tolerated the aughts remake because chloe moretz was a friend’s client and it had melissa george (not sure if i knew who rachel nichols was at the time but if i did, that would’ve been another bonus) - and i have not started now.  

ingrid goes west - not really what i was expected tonally, particularly the ending.  didn’t love it, didn’t dislike it.  can i finally admit that i just don’t like aubrey plaza that much?  o’shea jackson jr. is fucking adorable though.  

serpent - i appreciated that there was actual effort put into this, but it was destined to be crap with the premise of “stuck in a tent with a snake for most of the film.”  unless it’s ian mckellen and patrick stewart, you’re just NOT going to enjoy watching two people sit in one place and do little of anything for an hour and a half.  (and really, you’re going to fight about your relationship NOW??  like, i’m a pretty petty person but damn.)