THE LAST FEW THINGS I WATCHED (AND MY BRIEF THOUGHTS ON THEM)
I see a lot of films, but I don’t fully review them all. But here’s some capsule reviews! If you see a * before the title, it’s my first viewing. **** indicates recommending it. The rest are rewatches and are generally recommended.
Bottle Rocket (1996, Wes Anderson) - Maybe my third viewing? This one never stuck with me, but this recent viewing caught me in exactly the right mood. I love crime comedies in general, and I loved every minute of Wes Anderson’s debut feature.
Twisters (2024, Lee Isaac Chung) - Brought my wife to it. Still fun the second time, and a great date movie.
*Trap (2024, M. Night Shyamalan) **** - See my full review here: https://www.zachhammill.com/moviefriend/trap-review
Oppenheimer (2023, Christopher Nolan) - Maybe my fifth or sixth viewing. This time I was taken by the innovative editing and the score. This film gets stronger with each viewing. The dialogue is also very movie-ish, but that also makes it fun to watch. No wonder it earned a billion dollars!
*Sing Sing (2024, Greg Kwedar) **** - See my full review here: https://www.zachhammill.com/moviefriend/sing-sing-review
Baby Driver (2017, Edgar Wright) - I worked in quality control on the Blu Ray for this years ago, and my wife and I watched it last month, and rewatched it a couple of nights ago. It just moves, and the soundtrack is truly killer. Better with each viewing.
*Hardcore (1979, Paul Schrader) - Slowly working my way through director Paul Schrader’s filmography, and this early one has a lot on its mind. It takes some wild narrative swings that don’t fully connect, but by and large is intellectually rigorous on spiritual matters and George C. Scott’s performance grounds it all. And as typical for Schrader, it’s tough to watch.
*Despicable Me 4 (2024, Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage) - My birthday movie! Took the family. We had fun. It had too many characters and storylines that went nowhere, with the most interesting one involving a lonely “popular girl” neighbor… but it’s Despicable Me 4, whaddaya want?
Beverly Hills Cop (1984, Martin Brest) - This is classic for a reason. Every actor perfectly cast, every performance perfectly calibrated in the service of the story, and a strong script where the focus on relationships between the characters are the true action setpieces, and incredible blocking and staging of those scenes. Director Martin Brest is truly one of the underrated masters of the craft.
*Touch (1997, Paul Schrader) - Schrader attempts a breezy Elmore Leonard adaptation. It explores religion in an interesting way, which is his wheelhouse. In every other way the movie is a misfire. For diehard Schrader completists only.
*John Wick: Chapter 4 (2024, Chad Stahelski) **** - Very long, but surprisingly rich. Donnie Yen stands out. A worthy entry to a series I just started earlier this year.
*1917 (2019, Sam Mendes) - Saw this finally for the first time at my happy place, Trylon Cinema, as part of their summer series “The Long Take.” This movie seems to exist to give Roger Deakins his second Oscar. I was never able to disengage from its impressive formal technique long enough to become emotionally involved. Would have been a better short film. If war is hell, Sam Mendes (whose early films I’ve really enjoyed) needed to inject more hell and less gimmickry.
*Between The Temples (2024, Nathan Silver) **** - Maybe the funniest movie I’ve seen all year, in a time where the availability of feature-length comedies are sorely lacking. Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane make a lovely odd couple in this comedy about faith, loss, grief and rebirth. It has echoes of THE GRADUATE, HAROLD AND MAUDE and A SERIOUS MAN, and while a somewhat conventional third act and muddy mumblecore-esque filmmaking aesthetics keep it from fully reaching those heights, the script is fast and funny, the casting and performances are on point, the specificity of Judaism feels well observed and authentic, and it features some zippy editing choices as punctuation. Hilarious and sweet little film.
Zach is a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance (MNFCA). For more info about Zach, the organization, or to read other great reviews from other great Minnesota-based film critics, click here: https://mnfilmcriticalliance.wordpress.com/