First of all, a belated Happy 2016 (!) is in order. One would assume that a little side blog would not be so time-consuming, but that means that one would also underestimate the demands of a job in the financial sector...
As you know, I'm a fan of slow-burners that I can leave on in the background while I multitask and go about my work. But one of my unofficial 2016 resolutions has been to be more "present", and this is a credo that I have applied when viewing a film. Below are a few that have left me compelled from start to finish:
First one up is Bridge of Spies, a slow-burner that deftly mixes action sequences and terse verbal spars worthy of being set in the Cold War. It's easy to see why this was nominated so many times in so many categories in so many different countries. Tom Hanks + Steven Speilberg + "based on a true story" plot involving an ordinary man under extraordinary circumstances = both box office and critical success. And deservingly so.
I loved the fresh take on horror in The Cabin in the Woods, and It Follows was a random coincidence when I was flipping through the channels the other day. It is the thinking man's suspenseful horror, as there are thoughtful jump scares and painstakingly-crafted details cleverly designed to make the viewer feel continuously uneasy. Case in point: beautiful wide-shots where action is about to happen and the main character is juuuuuust out of focus. Throw in a solid, believable cast, incredible cinematography, and a nostalgic soundtrack, It Follows will be staying with me for a long time. There isn't any gore, which is so refreshing in horror these days, but the film is so terrifying that I couldn't even make it through the entire trailer above. It also has a basic enough premise that provides for great discussion post-viewing, and forces the audience to really pay attention to the nitty-gritty details.
There's a scene where everyone is lounging around lake-side with a shot of a character in the water, in the distance, and when the camera pans back to the rest of the cast, that same character is seen walking slowly to the party from the opposite side of where the audience has been clearly reminded that she should have been. 'It' has taken the form of the character, and the sequence is so brilliantly done in such an understated way that only the attentive viewer will derive chills from it. So good.
There's a scene where everyone is lounging around lake-side with a shot of a character in the water, in the distance, and when the camera pans back to the rest of the cast, that same character is seen walking slowly to the party from the opposite side of where the audience has been clearly reminded that she should have been. 'It' has taken the form of the character, and the sequence is so brilliantly done in such an understated way that only the attentive viewer will derive chills from it. So good.
I wanted to desperately catch this while it was still playing in theaters, but could never get the timing quite right. Sicario is one of my favorite movies of 2015, and when I really think about it, I genuinely believe that it could be on my Top 10 All-Time Favorites list. The tension in this film is thick, the setting is gritty, the plot is an imaginative take on the explanation of the War on Drugs, and the acting is flawless. Emily Blunt impressed me in Edge of Tomorrow (which is firmly on my Top 10 All-Time Favorites), and she didn't disappoint me here, carrying the entire film with such aplomb and believability while being an extension of the audience in seeing the events unfold. Films that force you to exhale a giant breath after a viewing are A+ in my book, and I finished watching Sicario feeling that my world had both expanded and shrunk.
Let's end on a lighter note, shall we? I haven't been too familiar with Melissa McCarthy's work - Bridesmaids was, in my opinion, a snoozefest, but Spy is one of the few films that has such good slapstick humor while cleverly riffing on the whole action/spy/adventure genre. Jason Statham is playing the caricature of his usual macho-man persona, and really, the whole supporting cast is just pitch perfect in their respective roles, Melissa McCarthy as the star is a breath of fresh air, as she is the believable, everywoman paper-pusher that is easily sympathetic to the viewers. I rooted for her at every turn and laughed out loud at nearly every single joke - and just like Sicario, wish I could have enjoyed this in a theater. One caveat is that it's not too family-friendly with a few specific scenes you wouldn't be able to watch with your mother, so no family viewing of this flick.
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