“Society of the Snow,” “Napoleon,” The Zone of Interest,” “Wonka,” “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Beyond Utopia,” and “The Teachers’ Lounge” Reviews

My 2023 watchlist is wrapping up quite soon, only have a few more movies to watch until I can finalize my top 10. Here we go!

Society of the Snow

This one was definitely a tough watch. What these passengers abord a Uruguayan flight had to endure was nothing short of horrifying. I remember watching this a few days before having to fly myself, and it definitely gave me some anxiety. I appreciated JA Bayona’s approach to the dark and traumatic bits, because an American director definitely would have sensationalized it. This is easily one of, if not the best man vs. nature films I’ve seen. My main issues were with the pacing and figuring out who each of the characters were. There were so many of them, and it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who. I wonder if this would have benefitted from being a miniseries, maybe 3-4 episodes or something. Regardless, it was gripping and pretty much solidifies the fact that nature never loses.

Grade: B/79

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Napoleon

I had high expectations for this film since Ridley Scott gave us The Last Duel back in 2021. Boy, was this one disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, Scott delivers on the goods when it comes to the production, costume design, and epic action sequences. It’s the spaces inbetween where we learn about Napoleon and his wife Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby that were quite a letdown. A lot has been said about how historically inaccurate this film is, and while I’m sure it would have benefitted from being a bit more accurate, I don’t think it would’ve been a make or break factor. The pacing was a bit all over the place, as it jumped from milestone to milestone in Napoleon’s storied career. I think it would have been better if the film was similar in structure to Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs, focusing on three pivotal points in his career.

While I very much love Joaquin Phoenix, I think his performance was kind of sleepy here. The writing also didn’t help. Ridley Scott’s decision to frame Napoleon as a petulant child was certainly a decision, and I donno how well it worked. While it’s not a bad movie, it’s ultimately a shame because there was so much potential for this to be an excellent film. I know there’s rumblings of a 4-hour directors cut, but I don’t know if even that could save this movie from being a weirdly written, paced, and acted film. The battle on the ice was freakin’ money though.

Grade: B-/74

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The Zone of Interest

One of the most horrifying films of the year. While I was not a fan at all of Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, I think his directorial style greatly benefitted The Zone of Interest, one of the most harrowing films made about the Holocaust. I’m glad this film got nominated for Best Sound because I cannot stress how much the sound in this film completely changes everything. So much of the film is not about what you see, but what you hear that leaves you terrified. The last 15 minutes of this film are seared into my brain forever and some of the most brilliant filmmaking I’ve ever seen.

Grade: A-/86

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Wonka

While I do love me some Timothee Chalamet, I couldn’t care less about Willy Wonka. I saw the original film many times as a kid, and thought it was fine, but I really had no affinity for it. The only reason I was interesting in this film was because it was directed by the guy who did the Paddington movies, and Chalamet. While I wouldn’t say it’s on the same level as Paddington, it’s a wonderful and charming film. Unfortunately, I found most of the songs to be kind of mediocre (except for the opening song, Hatful of Dreams). Chalamet however, has a surprisingly fantastic voice and he does his best to elevate the songs.

The film absolutely has the signature Paul King charm, but so much so that it’s hard to believe that this film is a prequel to the original film. Chalamet’s Wonka is pretty much a human Paddington Bear, but Gene Wilder’s Wonka is borderline psychotic that enjoys torturing naughty kids. You don’t get any hint of that in Wonka. It’s better to view this film as a standalone entry as opposed to a prequel in my opinion. I probably would have loved this film if the songs were a bit better, but seeing as how I didn’t really have too high of expectations, I’ll take what I can get.

Grade: B/80

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20 Days in Mariupol

This was probably the most depressing documentary I’ve ever seen. War is horrifying and no one truly comes out a winner. When earth-shifting decisions are made by the few, we see the ugliness of humanity in documentaries such as this. It’s sad that the war in Ukraine doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, but I’m glad that this documentary was released for the world to see. While the documentary might not have as much “production value” as others, that’s not the point at all. It’s a tough watch that should be seen by everyone so that we can learn not to make the same mistakes.

Grade: B+/81

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Beyond Utopia

Another really depressing documentary. North Koreans living under such an oppressive regime is truly heartbreaking. This documentary tells the story of a few families trying to escape North Korea, with a help of a South Korean Pastor. It’s honestly baffling that countries like North Korea exist in our world, as their people are truly living in a dystopian society. Watching this really made me reflect on how thankful I should be for the life I have.

Grade: B+/81

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The Teachers’ Lounge

I had no idea that this film existed until the Oscar nominations were announced, and this film was nominated over a few more popular entries (Looking at you, The Taste of Things). I watched this film with no expectations and holy moly, this was one of the most stressful films of the year. As someone who has a brother that’s a middle school teacher, watching this gave me secondhand PTSD. Leonie Benesch gives a wonderful performance as a living saint of a teacher who takes matters into her own hands when the school fails her. This film was Uncut Gems levels of stress, except unlike that film, everything is paced in a much more cohesive and believable manner. Few thrillers in 2023 have lived up to the tension and suspense that The Teachers’ Lounge delivered. Future teachers, be warned if you watch this film, you may consider a career change.

Grade: B+/82

“Ambulance,” “Petite Maman,” “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” and “Navalny” Reviews

Ambulance

When I saw the trailer for this film in theaters, I wanted to throw up. Michael Bay seems to have discovered that you can attach a camera to drones, so it was a nauseating three minutes. However, I was surprisingly disappointed by how little drone footage there was in the actual film. Most of the shots last about no more than 5 seconds each time they appear in the movie, and most of them don’t really have any purpose other than to make you dizzy. I will say that some of them were pretty cool though.

Overall, this film was fine. Jake Gyllenhaal reminds everyone that he’s great at playing a psychopath, channeling about 30% of the greatness from his best performance as Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler. You can tell he’s clearly having fun, and Eiza Gonzales and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II round out the competent cast. It’s a typical Michael Bay film, so if you’re a fan of his movies, this will be no different from anything he’s made in the past. The action is there, the humor is there, it’s everything you want in one of his projects. I will say that because this movie is akin to the likes of thrillers such as Speed where the main characters are constantly on the run, this film felt about 20 minutes too long. There were some pacing issues that did not keep me engaged throughout. If you want to throw something on in the background, this film probably wouldn’t hurt.

Grade: C+/70

Petite Maman

I was really surprised by this film, really did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Directed by Portrait of a Lady on Fire‘s Celine Sciamma, this French film is a very brisk but emotionally dense film about two kids who bond over a brief period of time in a small and quaint countryside. This is one of those films that work best if you don’t know anything about it. The children’s performances are sweet, and the film is surprisingly short. This may be the shortest film I’ve seen in a long time, not including animated films. Clocking in at 1 hour 12 minutes, this film carries the emotional depth and weight of a 2 and a half hour film. I loved the themes that they explore in this film, and I loved the beautiful and simplistic direction and cinematography. The best way I could describe this film is cinematic ASMR.

Grade: B+/83

Downton Abbey: A New Era

Look, I’m never NOT going to watch another Downton Abbey movie. But these have got to stop! No, this movie isn’t bad by any means. It was wonderful revisiting this world and its wonderful characters. It gave me chills hearing that beautiful music again. But I LOVE Downton Abbey, and the films do not match the quality of the show. The show ended perfectly, and these past two movies are just good, not great. Creator Julian Fellowes clearly wants to make this film a trilogy, and possibly even more after that. I really hope that Fellowes knows when to call it quits, because a lot of the character-arcs in the show have been wrapped up beautifully and don’t need anything else added. If you’re a huge fan of the show like me, you’ll most likely enjoy this. Some of the pacing in the first half is too quick and they try to cover a lot of ground, but the second half feels more like a solid episode of the show, which is a good thing. I prefer things that are great to go out on top, as opposed to overstaying their welcome.

Grade: B/78

Navalny

This was a really eye-opening documentary that reminded me that reality is sometimes more fascinating than fiction. There is one scene in this film regarding a phone call that is so unbelievable that you’d think it was straight out of a spy movie or something. As interesting as the film is, ultimately it highlights the unfortunate cost of being a true patriot of your country. In this case, it’s about Alexei Navalny standing up to the corrupt leaders of Russia. It’s always a sobering reminder of how in America I’m able to enjoy numerous freedoms that I take for granted every single day, and others all over the world are fighting for rights that I subconsciously assume everyone has. At the end of the day, this film is pretty straightforward and does not try to “cinematize” Navalny’s story, which I appreciated. I may not agree with everything Navalny stands for, but he is a truly admirable man.

Grade: B+/81

Super Movie Catch-up Review Extravaganza (A Sun, I Care a Lot, Promising Young Woman, Da 5 Bloods, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The Dissident, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Father)

As I said in an earlier post, it’s harder for me to post more regularly with the films I’ve watched this past year due to work being quite busy at the moment, but I didn’t want to leave all of these films by the wayside so I’ll put out some quick hits here, in the order of when I watched them.

A Sun

It’s not often that I get to see Taiwanese films generating film award buzz. Being a Taiwanese American myself, it’s a pleasure to see films from where my parents came from, and Chung Mong-Hong deftly captures both the diversity of the island itself and of the people living in it. It’s powerfully acted, and has many different stories interwoven together in this long crime-drama epic. The film does suffer from being a bit too long, and is honestly a bit melodramatic at times. It’s still able to to piece everything together in a pretty thrilling climax.

Grade: B/79

I Care a Lot

This film tries so hard to be Gone Girl and succeeds in some aspects, mainly that of Rosamund Pike being delightfully evil. It kind of fails at just about everything else though. This film has a kind of poorly written view on female empowerment and a very immature look at the downsides of capitalism, but it’s still a somewhat compelling and entertaining mystery. I liked the performances from everyone in this movie, and it really is hard not to love Pike’s performance as a whole, even if her character isn’t likable at all.

Grade: B-/73

Promising Young Woman

I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this movie, the only thing I knew was that people thought the ending was incredibly controversial, and that overall this film was pretty polarizing. Well, I can see that now. This is probably my favorite Carey Mulligan performance that I’ve seen; she is absolutely electric in this film. The style and the choice of music was also excellent as well. I also think Bo Burnham is incredibly underrated as an actor, and hope to see him in more stuff. I don’t think the message of this film came across as effectively as it could have, because lots of the points it’s trying to make contradicts itself and kind of makes the film unbelievable at times. I’ll be honest though, I was absolutely fascinated with reading people’s reviews and reactions to this film, probably more than watching the film itself.

Grade: B/79

Da 5 Bloods

Absolutely was not feeling this movie. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen a Spike Lee movie in a while, but man this film was all over the place. Was he always this aggressively preachy? The first half of this film felt like a soapbox for him to voice all his displeasures about the white man. After that, it devolved into a mishmash of genres that didn’t live up to any of its expectations. Some parts of it felt like a Spielbergian treasure hunt, then Apocalypse Now, and then a generic Hollywood action blockbuster to wrap it all up. I appreciate Lee’s ambitions, but this really soured my taste in wanting to watch any of his future films. I enjoyed Do the Right Thing and Inside Man, but when he makes stuff like this…meh. Delroy Lindo was absolutely robbed of a best supporting actor Oscar nomination though, that guy really went all out for this role. Also greatly enjoyed Jonathan Majors as well, really excited for that young man’s future. The Clay Davis cameo was also incredible.

Grade: C/65

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Is this film better than the Whedon cut? Yes, only by a little. Was it worth all those years of toxic fans complaining their way for this movie to be released? Absolutely not. I appreciate Zack Snyder’s ambitious vision for the DCEU, even if it’s something I wouldn’t be too thrilled about had it come to fruition. I am in a way happy he got to release his cut, but this sets a dangerous precedent for fans thinking they can just complain hard enough to “release the X cut” if something they like isn’t too well received. But look, there’s plenty to enjoy in this film. The best compliment I could give about this film is that it did make me want to see more. It’s hard to have an Avengers-type buildup in one film, but Snyder does his best. I’d wager he could have pulled it off too, if 50% of the film hadn’t been in freaking slow-mo. Seriously, IT’S NOT THAT COOL OF AN EFFECT. PLEASE STOP USING IT SO MUCH. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time with this film though, and I really hope Henry Cavill gets another shot at being Superman.

Grade: B/77

The Dissident

I was absolutely enthralled with Bryan Fogel’s previous documentary, Icarus. Obviously I had to give his follow-up documentary a view, and The Dissident definitely has that same style of filmmaking, even though the subject matter is vastly different. I think the story itself is more compelling than many fictions, but this documentary still felt the need to Hollywood-ify it up a bit too much. There’s too many flashy effects that kind of numb the actual horrors of the real-life accounts of this documentary. It’s still a really fascinating view into the cost of speaking up for the freedoms of people in an oppressed, totalitarian nation.

Grade: B/80

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Earlier this year when this film was just starting to get buzz, I made the prediction that Chadwick Boseman was going to win Best Actor. Not because he deserved it, but because of the politics surrounding the Oscars. It’s become clear in this past decade that the Academy Awards aren’t so much about awarding films and actors based on whether or not they deserve it, but rather using it as a platform to show how they as an Academy are perceived in terms of what they “believe and stand for.” It’s truly a shame that this is what the most prestigious award ceremony for cinema has come to, especially because whether we like it or not, the Oscars do a lot for exposing people to new films and performers. Too bad behind the scenes it’s just filled with politics and having an agenda.

With that being said though, after finally seeing the film, I can honestly say that Boseman is deserving of the Best Actor award. In fact, this film in general had the best ensemble I’ve seen all year. It’s so hard to deny Viola Davis’s greatness, and of course she’s brilliant here. I think Boseman lives up to the hype with this performance, and I think a lot of that lends to the fact that this film, much like the Denzel Washington and Viola Davis film Fences, gives these actors a lot of time to flex their acting muscles. Both are similar since they’re August Wilson theater adaptations, and the majority of the movie is just them sitting in one room and talking for about half an hour. Because of that, I felt the same way as I did with Fences. This film has excellent performances, but it’s also…kind of boring. It was hard for me to be interested in what was going on, even from a cinematic standpoint. It’s just a lot of back and forth shots with not a lot of development going on. The music was great, but there surprisingly wasn’t that much of it either. The ending also got me feeling kind of mixed, because I felt like it kind of came out of nowhere and didn’t have the emotional impact I thought it could have. Still, it’s hard to deny how well everyone performed in this film. Shoutout to Colman Domingo as well, who I thought gave a really underrated and fantastic performance.

Grade: B/76

The Father

Remember when I said Ma Rainey had the best ensemble of the year? Well, that was before I saw The Father. Granted, this film does not have quite as big of a cast as the former, but Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are SO GOOD in this movie. This is easily my favorite performance from Hopkins since Silence of the Lambs, and my favorite performance from Colman since…since The Crown season 4 from a few months ago. I do think both are deserving of Best Actor awards, but I highly doubt Hopkins will win, for reasons said above. This film is pure devastation from beginning to end. Not only does this film have some truly powerful performances, the direction, cinematography and editing are sublime. It’s so well made and perfectly captures the message of the story. I really don’t want to go into too much detail about this film because I think it’s better off not knowing too much. The only thing you need to know is that this film will wreck you. If Requiem for a Dream is cinema’s greatest PSA for not doing drugs, The Father is cinema’s greatest PSA for not getting old. This is a film that I absolutely adored, and also never want to see again.

Grade: A-/86

“They Shall Not Grow Old” Review

After releasing the poorly received Mortal Engines, Peter Jackson redeems his year with the intimate documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, a piece that focuses on World War I and the soldiers’ recollections of their experiences during it.

The immediate standout feature of this film is that it uses old unseen WWI footage from the Imperial War Museum’s archives, but it’s been colorized and dubbed over thanks to Jackson’s production team. The result is a very intricately coordinated and designed product that realistically captures the horrors of WWI. They have voice actors dubbing over what the soldiers are saying to add to the immersion, along with voice recordings from actual soldiers courtesy of the BBC.

It’s always fascinating to see an authentic piece of history brought to life and shared on the big screen. Because it utilizes bunch of recordings and unused footage, it doesn’t have the conventional trappings of your standard documentary. Instead, it feels more like pieces of different puzzles arranged together to make its own landscape. This works largely to its advantage, although you don’t have a focused narrative like you normally would in other documentaries. However, the authenticity is hard to ignore, and grounds you in the harsh reality it depicts.

I thought that the last third of the movie was very impactful and moving, as it deals with the aftermath of the war and the soldiers’ personal reflections on their experiences and assimilation back into the real world. It’s always important to make sure that veterans’ voices are heard in regards to service in war, especially since it seems like we won’t stop fighting wars any time soon. As someone who is not really into documentaries or WWI history, I think They Shall Not Grow Old offers something for everyone, because at the end of the day it tells a harrowing story about people who were dropped in the wrong place at the wrong time, and did everything they could to survive alongside their brothers in arms. It is a meaningful chapter in humanity that we ought not to visit again, but also never forget.

Grade: B+/81