| Image

UW Film Club Podcast #64 – Joker

“I used to think my life was a tragedy, but now I realize, it’s a podcast where some college students talk about movies.”

Joker, one of the most controversial films of 2019, has now (for better or worse) unexpectedly garnered 11 Oscar nominations – the most for this awards season, and for any comic book film in history. And while podcast host Jim is mostly indifferent about the film, he sits down to talk to a few special guests who enjoyed it more than he did. In this episode, we talk about Joaquin Phoenix’s impassioned performance, the film’s lack of subtlety and depth in its message about *society* and treatment of the disenfranchised/mentally ill, as well as whether it holds up on its own amongst the DC mythos from whence it originated. You want to hear another joke? Well, you’ll get what you deserve on the 64th episode of the UW Film Club podcast! Tune in now!

On this episode: Jim Saunders, Leila Okorie, Diana Raykova and Ajay Rawat

You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Google Play, and tune in every Monday for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!

| Image

Review: ‘Varda by Agnès’ is a Spontaneous, Joyful Goodbye

Per Agnès Varda, there are three stages to making a film. First, inspiration, because the idea must come from somewhere. Then, creation, because the idea must be brought to life. Finally, sharing, because you do not make movies to keep them to yourself. With these three tenets in mind, filmmaking is no longer a grand, complicated pursuit. Instead, it becomes simple and spontaneous. Accessible and lighthearted. Not so much an attempt at explaining the world but a celebration of what is possible in story. Understanding this is understanding Mme. Varda, whose films are filled to the brim with this energy. From an hour and a half in a French singer’s life, to a hundred-year-old man who represents cinema, to a triptych about potatoes, each one of Varda’s creations shouts “Come look! Look at this interesting thing!”

Varda by Agnès does so well to capture this joyful spirit. The film is composed of several different talks she gave (at opera halls, schools, and museums) that serve as a commentary on her art. It makes no attempt at a unifying theme or a moral lesson. Instead, it is simply an opportunity for the French icon to spend some time talking about the things she has made. It is written by Varda, directed by Varda, acted in by Varda, and edited by Varda. It is the story of Agnès Varda’s career as an artist as told by Agnès Varda, because who else would qualify for the task?

Additionally, it is a fun story to follow. Varda is extremely humorous and her love for art shines through clearly. None of her work is put on a pedestal. Instead, she giggles about convincing De Niro to float around on a pond for a day and celebrates colorful plastic floaties like a 9-year-old kid in a 90-year-old body. It’s not all about her cinema, and the latter half of the documentary, to do more with her exhibits and displays, is probably less engaging than the first (though that may just be the opinion of a single-medium aesthete). The film is certainly not comprehensive, nor does it claim to be entirely coherent. Varda talks and we listen, perhaps gaining a better sense of her genius, perhaps just happy to hear what she has to say. It’s certainly not a mournful eulogy. Varda wouldn’t have wanted that. Her passing last year only meant her energy would continue in another form. She lives on somewhere else now, directing angels in glorious feminist anthems. And her work lives on forever.

3.5/5 STARS

| Image

Review: ‘1917’ Takes the Genre to a Whole New Level

It’s been almost a decade since a Hollywood film depicted the events of World War One, the last being Steven Spielberg’s War Horse. Not since then have we seen the bloody conflict on the big screen. Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is often lauded as one of the best suspense oriented war films, I can now confidently say it is now number two to 1917. Sam Mendes’ entry into the genre, 1917, may very well be the best the entire war genre has ever seen. This piece of cinema redefines what it takes to be truly excellent in a market of ever crowding blockbusters and “theme park rides,” as Martin Scorsese would say.

The cast is a who’s who of the BBC’s finest actors, with loads of short cameo roles including everyone from Colin Firth to Benedict Cumberbatch. The two leads however, Dean-Charles Chapman and George Mackay, play two corporals sent on a mission to save sixteen hundred men from walking into an impending German trap. The story feels personal and grounded, as it is based on stories Mendes’ grandfather had told him. Despite being with the characters for mere minutes, their struggles and plights hit home. Performances of quite literally every person on-screen, down to the extras, are exemplary. World War One has never felt more real outside of the actual event than as seen here. This is a testament not only to the acting ability of the whole crew but the power of the script as well, not to mention the way it was shot. Cinematographer Roger Deakins delivers a likely Oscar-winning job, showing the audience this conflict like never seen before. The way he plays with color and lighting is truly a wonder to behold and well worth a second viewing.

What held this from perfection for me in the theater did not have to do with the actual movie I was seeing, but my expectations going in, a dangerous thing in cinema today. The movie advertised itself as one long take, an unbreakable scene moving for the entire one hundred and nineteen minutes. Unfortunately, while there are clear impressive long shots, there is no illusion that this is one long take. Most moviegoers know that this feat is largely impossible, only achieved through editing tricks. However, 1917’s biggest drawback is that these hidden cuts are not hidden whatsoever. I should reiterate that this movie is beautiful and impressive in every way, but it doesn’t feel like one continuous shot. I wouldn’t have had a problem with this if the film hadn’t been so heavily marketed as otherwise.

In conclusion, 1917 is a marvelous technical achievement layered on a compelling narrative that was even able to drive some in my screening to the point of tears. This is an unparalleled spectacle like no other that will deliver you a satisfying theater-going experience at the very least. While this may be an awards movie, it is not just an awards movie, it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. Please do yourself a favor and go see this movie.

4.5/5 STARS

| Image

Review: ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ is a Pleasant Surprise

Jumanji: The Next Level is another entry into the updated Jumanji series, from board game to video game, that seems to print money for Sony for some reason. It stars Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillen, Nick Jonas, and newcomer Awkwafina to lead the audience through another Jumanji adventure. The 2017 film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is, unfortunately, not one I can say I enjoyed. I found it to be a middling reboot to a long-forgotten franchise. Its sequel, however, in a surprise to myself, I can confidently say I enjoyed. While by no means is it this a masterpiece, it does surprisingly enthuse me for the future of the franchise as the film ends on a rather tantalizing cliffhanger.

Writer and director Jake Kasdan, coming back as director and taking over as writer, injects much-needed levity into a sequel whose predecessor felt excessively drab. While the body-swapping gag fell flat on its face last time, I found myself enjoying it as the writing this time around is far superior. It knows not to take itself seriously and really dials it up to eleven. The additions of Danny Devito and Danny Glover are welcome and provide numerous laughs as watching the other actors try and pretend to be them is a real treat. The ensemble dynamic flowed far better this time around, likely due to the writing shakeup. While last time the plot felt aimless, meandering far too much like the video game it was trying to portray, The Next Level has a strong sense of direction for both its characters and overall story. Even when it’s hamfisted and a bit cringey, it’s far more preferable to the nothingness of its predecessor.

It is important to note that while it is an improvement upon the last installment, that does not necessarily make all elements good. Both the plot and character arcs are recycled classics, and while they are appreciated after the absences in the last movie, that does not make them any less predictable here. The villain is about as generic as they come, although still well acted by Game of Thrones alum Rory McCann, lacks interesting motives or backstory. Despite the film feeling tired and generic, it doesn’t detract too much from the experience as the emphasis of the film is clearly on the relationships between our lead characters. Said interactions are well sold by the on-screen chemistry of the cast, powering the film through to the credits.

With fun, new concepts and a killer cast, Jumanji: The Next Level has enough charm to stand on its own as a piece of new cinema. While not anything to stop the presses about, this is an enjoyable experience that proves it is worthy of yet another sequel, one that is teased to take it back to the franchise roots.

3.5/5 STARS

| Image

Review: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Chooses Style Over Substance

One of the most anticipated movies of 2019 is finally here for the holiday season. J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the final installment to the sequel trilogy as well as the Skywalker Saga that began all the way back in Episode I. This concluding episode follows the final battle between the Resistance and The First Order, Rey and Kylo Ren, and the Light and the Dark side.

Just like in The Return of the Jedi, there’s a significant time gap between this movie and its previous installment. Even though the classic crawling text intro catches us up, the movie spends a significant amount of time explaining the events that lead to the ultimate showdown. As a result, it feels disconnected from The Last Jedi, instead feeling like a sequel to The Force Awakens, which was coincidentally also directed by J.J. Abrams. Additionally, the pacing of the film is inconsistent. As portrayed in the final trailer, Palpatine is brought back to be the main villain of this movie. The Rebels go from planet to planet searching for him and finding clues that lead them to more clues. This scavenger hunt is too fast and rushed, primarily because the next step or clue is always spelled out for the characters. The pace then abruptly slows down in the last act and the final battle is far too stretched out.

There are a few recurring characters from previous films along with a couple of new characters. Ian McDiarmid reprises his role as Emperor Palpatine. His return is a surprise, but a welcome one nonetheless. Both Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver give amazing performances as Rey and Kylo Ren respectively. Although the movie primarily revolves around these three characters, John Boyega as Finn and Oscar Issac as Poe Dameron are great as supporting characters. However, they had more potential and their overall arc feels incomplete. This is also the last appearance of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and her character is given a satisfying end. There are also a few cameos by characters from previous trilogies.

The main criticism of the film is that it is plot-driven. Except for Rey and Kylo, most of the characters aren’t explored further than what they were in The Last Jedi. There aren’t a lot of scenes where we see character conflicts or dramatic decisions that add complexity to characters. The first act would have been interesting, for example, if there had been some emotional conflict between characters instead of a blind chase to find Palpatine. The film also attempts to ignore the previous installment in overriding the themes that were built in The Last Jedi.

One thing that is consistent throughout all the Star Wars movies is the amazing soundtrack. John Williams, the composer for the score, has used themes from across the franchise and also composed new pieces for this movie. Recurring character themes like The Imperial March and The Emperor’s Theme bring back the nostalgia from the original and prequel trilogies, while the newer additions accompany the fight sequences perfectly by making them feel energetic.

This review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the lightsaber duels. Where the movie lacks in character development, it makes up for with action and visual effects. Dan Mindel, the cinematographer, and Abrams have reaffirmed their prowess with classic, fast-paced action sequences. This movie brings new elements to the classic lightsaber duels along with new force powers that make the duels interesting to watch. In one particular scene, Rey fights a TIE fighter with a lightsaber in what is a visually appealing and exciting scene to watch. The excellent cinematography and soundtrack make the lightsaber fights the most satisfying part of the movie.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker seems good as a stand-alone film; however, it doesn’t fit well with the previous installments. The trilogy as a whole feels disjointed and inconsistent. The Skywalker Saga has finally come to an end, but, this is certainly not the end for the franchise. Lucasfilms is now focusing on other media with The Mandalorian and the recently announced Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series. There are still a lot of stories to tell that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

3/5 STARS

Review: ‘Little Women’ is Heartwarming, Grounded, and Just as Relevant as Ever

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is widely considered to be one of the most beloved coming of age stories of all time. The classic story follows the March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy during the Civil War as they struggle to get by while their father is away. It’s been adapted many times to various stage, film, television, and musical productions. Newest to this family of adaptations is Greta Gerwig’s film starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, and Eliza Scanlen as Jo, Amy, Meg, and Beth March. It is difficult to fully say how unique and pivotal this story is, and how much it is a tribute to women in particular as a female driven story. Little Women details life, loss, and love as it chronicles a bittersweet journey of growing up. Gerwig’s writing and directing, as well as the stellar performance of the cast, captures this spirit with a steadfast and dutiful hand.

Continue reading “Review: ‘Little Women’ is Heartwarming, Grounded, and Just as Relevant as Ever” →

Review: ‘A Hidden Life’ is a Masterful Cinematic Prayer

Spirituality has defined many of Terrence Malick’s most universally lauded films throughout his career, from his foremost masterpiece The Tree of Life to some of his more polarizing films like Knight of Cups and more. Even when his films are not explicitly spiritual on the forefront, many seem to have a grander focus on portraying some sort of paradise being lost and the resulting internal journey. His newest film, A Hidden Life, is the film in his long career that perhaps exemplifies both of these aspects best. The film tells the true story of Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), an Austrian farmer turned conscientious objector during the Second World War who is executed in 1943 after being called up into service and refusing to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler.

Continue reading “Review: ‘A Hidden Life’ is a Masterful Cinematic Prayer” →

| Image

Review: ‘6 Underground’ is Carte Blanche Netflix Bayhem

Michael Bay’s career stretches back to the humble beginnings of the 90’s music video era, directing hits for singers like Tina Turner and Meatloaf. His first feature film was the mega-hit Bad Boys, propelling his and Will Smith’s respective careers into the stratosphere and subsequently starting his path to become one of the most universally rueful directors who continually produces massive hits year after year. Almost 25 years later, we finally see Michael Bay given carte blanche, thanks to Netflix’s seemingly endless pockets and no real desire for quality control. What we get cannot even be described in a single word. Much more than ‘Bayhem’, 6 Underground consists of all the infamous Bay trademarks that have propelled his idiosyncratic career: sustained formalistic Michael Mann practical action within a thinly stretched story, crude humor, wonky politics, a repetitive plot, and of course: explosions. It also happens to be one of the best action movies of the year.

The “story” (if it can even be called that) of 6 Underground centers around a brilliant billionaire (Ryan Reynolds) who fakes his own death to lead a team of rogue international mercenaries – a group of ghosts designed to do the jobs that world governments refuse to do. Opening with a job gone wrong in Florence, Italy, the team recruits a former sniper battling PTSD to forge a military coup, deposing the authoritarian leader of Turgistan and replacing him with his democratic brother. 

6 Underground begins with the greatest action set-piece of the year and never lets up from frame one. Bay’s trademark of endless explosions and practical plastic inevitability may produce an eye-roll for most fans, but it is also a gift that very few in the turgid digital age of Marvel can pull off. The opening scene is pure Bay, from dick jokes, to Nuns violently waving their middle fingers, to innocent civilian bodies flying, to a severed eye-ball getting passed through a speeding neon green Lamborghini – you get the point. There’s even a scene that implies Bay thinks Dave Franco is famous enough to be Janet-Leighed. In truth, the scene, just like most of the film, is a rapid-fire gloriously crass cluster of violence and awry character. As the film moves from one standout American action set-piece to another, the film somehow maintains this maniacal pacing interweaved with droll expository information and the film’s ultimate enemy: plot. Even 6 Underground’s central politics are so backward, in-bred, and twisted that only the ultimate bad-taste American Maestro like Bay could pull it off. The film carries over the morally reprehensible American ideology of the military state from the Iraq war. It is so formally reprehensible that it almost somehow almost twists itself back around again into a complex companion to Zero Dark Thirty.

6 Underground‘s loose and messy structure perfectly matches Bay’s sensibilities. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the infamous (and extremely rich) writers of such “comedic classics” as Zombieland and Deadpool barely know where to take the film. The first half of the film is entirely set around flashbacks and set pieces. The back half is entirely set up fake emotional engagements and set-piece. Even calling this a story is a stretch. Yet somehow, theirs (and Ryan Reynolds) stylistic traits match perfectly with the breakneck tackiness of a Michael Bay Netflix adventure.

3.5/5 STARS

Review: The Safdie Brothers Master the Nonstop Thriller with ‘Uncut Gems’

Before going to see this film, I revisited Josh and Benny Safdie’s previous directorial effort, Good Time, and it reminded me why I was so excited to see Uncut Gems. From that film alone, it’s easy to see all the potential for the Safdie brothers both as writers and directors. Uncut Gems is the embodiment of that potential; they have found a type of narrative that they can tell extraordinarily well and a style that perfectly coincides with that narrative.

Continue reading “Review: The Safdie Brothers Master the Nonstop Thriller with ‘Uncut Gems’” →

| Image

Review: ‘The Two Popes’ is Religiously Devoted to Crude Cinematography

It was with 2002’s City of God that director Fernando Meirelles first burst onto the international movie scene. A South American Goodfellas, the film followed a young Brazilian boy named Rocket across three decades as he scraped out an existence in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. The movie met roaring success and is now perennially regarded as one of the better movies of all time (#22 and #40 on IMDB and Letterboxd’s Top 250, respectively). Behind the captivating narrative, the uncomfortable depictions of violence and poverty, and the heavy-handed approach to editing and camera effects that would probably knock Robert W. Paul out cold, stood Meirelles. His contribution to the gangster genre was unique and revolutionary and spectacular. As a result, few filmgoers of the early noughties would’ve believed that Meirelles would end the next decade with a Netflix-funded biopic about Pope Benedict XVI and his Argentine successor. For one, Netflix was still only renting out DVDs at that time. For another, neither pope had yet been elected. However, such was exactly the path that the Brazilian director followed. Unfortunately, The Two Popes proves that Meirelles would do better to stick with gangster flicks.

Popes is shot to look like a documentary, covering the eight years between German conservative Joseph Ratzinger’s election to the papacy, and his bizarre resignation and the subsequent election of Argentine (and much less conservative) Jorge Bergoglio in 2013. The film is comprised in large part of conversations between the two during the former’s papal rule. To the casting director’s credit, those conversations are acted out brilliantly. Jonathon Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, playing brothers in faith but rivals in thought, are the lifeblood of a picture whose success is first and foremost determined by its ability to keep audiences engaged in the religious parleys of two elderly gentlemen. The two actors dance masterfully about the topics of life and death and what lies beyond, then turn on a dime and discuss the Beatles and pulp detective TV shows with equal precision. Were either to bring in a major award for their performance, it would not be an upset. It is not there that the film falters.

Instead, fault is found in the way that the two Popes are shot and presented. To begin, Meirelles’ cinematography leads one to believe that he is unsure of the genre he is working with. Crash zooms, extreme close-ups, and Dutch angles aplenty ultimately distract the audiences from the interesting discussions they ought to be paying attention to. At the same time, the film’s structure is constructed such that the narrative climaxes in a 20-minute flashback that feels more like a digression than a revelation. The music cues are odd, if not unwelcome, and the informal nature that pervades much of the film quietly removes the possibility that the weight of its emotional summits will linger long past the end credits.

At the risk of raising pointless hypotheticals, one cannot help but wonder how other directors may have approached the task. Indeed, brief moments of the film are so beautifully interwoven with the tremendous power of religious themes that the potential of the film flashes in one’s face like neon signage. As quickly as those moments appear, however, they dissolve again in the presence of yet another Dutch angle. Ultimately, the story is acted out well, filmed poorly, and structured clumsily, but does not fail to move the audience at least once or twice.

3/5 STARS