No changes this week.
In French. 91 minutes so the right length. Watched on Netflix so I couldn't fast forward, which I probably would have done if I could, but again, I didn't regret that I couldn't. Maybe they're trying to cash in on the Blue is the Warmest Color thing (a movie I *loved*) ... this story is sorta kinda similar. Beautiful girl ("Charlie"), high school senior, meets new girl in school, also attractive though in a more big-mouthed Carly Simon way ... anyway they grow close, maybe Charlie falls in love, then Charlie discovers the girl has a secret, which she keeps, but the girl still goes psycho on her, and Charlie kind of loses her mind too, with a tragic ending. It wasn't bad but for some reason I can only give it a yellow (consider), not a green. Would have benefited from more young flesh being revealed (almost none was), Charlie had a great bod.
Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est
In Italian (and some Calabrian dialect). 103 minutes so the right length, and I was streaming this one (Netflix) so I couldn't fast forward it, which I'm kind of glad about because I *would* have fast forwarded if I could, and then I wouldn't have liked it as much. Not that I liked it a LOT, but it wasn't bad. Mafia story. Mafia family dynamics. The real Mafia, not guys wearing Tommy Bahama shirts. Turns into a Greek tragedy. It's a bummer. But not badly done. Tentatively a yellow and if I can't come up with a top ten after finishing all 80! movies from 2015 on my list, I might upgrade it to green.
Reminder that I've only liked and can recommend the following movies from 2015: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Shaun the Sheep, and Tangerine.
Luigi and Ms. Fine Buttocks
104 minutes so the right length but I fast forwarded from 20 minutes in. Gandalf as nonagenarian Sherlock Holmes (McKellen and his nose are both "only" 77). Several stories at once, none of them very interesting. In his old age Holmes learns that it's better to tell white lies than simply state the facts. And Watson made most of the stories up out of whole cloth. Maybe a yellow rating, but for most I'd say it's more of a red (avoid).
Not at the peak of his powers
121 minutes, so at least 20 to 30 minutes too long. It's about Brian Wilson, leader of the Beach Boys. Movie is split between the 60s, where some mop-haired kid plays Wilson, and the 80s, where John Cusack plays Wilson. The kid who plays him isn't bad but John Cusack is a disaster. Wesley Morris, in his brilliant review, gets Cusack exactly right when he says, "it’s like watching a movie star have a bad Ambien reaction."
There are a few songs from the Beach Boys I like, probably half a dozen, and I wasn't thrilled with Pet Sounds, I'm not a "fan," I don't know the backstory of Brian Wilson. But it was sort of interesting, both the tortured youth aspect, and the post-heavy drug abuse / mentally ill adult being imprisoned by his shrink (played by Tiny Giamatti in a wig). I should say that I watched it on 2x fast forward, and I fear that I'll do that a lot from now on. If you're a Baby Boomer who loved the Beach Boys, then you should see it, but for everyone else it gets only a yellow (consider) rating from me.
Hearing Voices
104 minutes so about the right length, but still I fast forwarded from 20 minutes in. A tragic story really, deeply sad, I'm not sure why they're playing it for laughs. If you like British eccentrics (homeless lady, gay playwright from the North and his middlebrow mother), and I normally do, you might enjoy it, but I wasn't into this, and will have to go with a red rating, avoid.
Maggie Smith channeling Marty Feldman
