Mati Diop’s Atlantics takes a current event topic* and crafts a unique story about the women who are left behind. This was a very atmospheric film that got more interesting as the movie continued. Mame Bineta Sane as Ada is a compelling main character.
The verdict: Good
Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99) Where watched: at home
*People attempting to escape grinding poverty by sailing across the Mediterranean for the chance of a better life
Questions:
What elements of this film worked for you?
How did you come to watch this film? (I watched it because it’s a Filmspotting Golden Brick nominee)
Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:
Mati Diop, with her submission of “Atlantics” to the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, is the first black woman director in history to compete in the festival’s competition.
Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is worth watching for its excellent performances—Joe Pesci was my favorite—but ultimately is a bloated, overly long story that isn’t very interesting.* This is a less-bloody Scorsese film,** and uses de-aging technology so that the main actors, all over 70, can play themselves at much younger ages.*** It may be that I’ve grown impatient with stories of manly men doing manly things,**** but this movie didn’t resonate with me at all.*****
The verdict: Skip
Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99) Where watched: at home
Consider watching these other Scorsese films instead:
*It might have worked better as a four-episode limited series, but I would guess Mr. Scorsese thinks he’s too good for TV. **but its lack of drama and tension had me wishing I was re-watching The Departed ***While everyone seems to be very impressed by this technology, I didn’t find it to be successful. Robert De Niro never looked actually young and thus it wasn’t always clear which of the many time periods we were in. ****For example, I just can’t get excited about Ford vs. Ferrari, even though it’s populated with actors I love. *****And oh my god, if I had to see one more shot of Peggy (Anna Paquin) quietly observing her father I was going to figure out how to make a compilation video and then morph that into one of those big-eyed animals crying video. We get it already! She’s the moral center of the film! She has nothing else to do than to sadly judge! Where are the female characters in this film?!?
Questions:
What did you think of this film that 96% of Rotten Tomato Critics found Fresh?
What are the pluses and minuses of de-aging actors?
Favorite IMDB trivia item:
Robert De Niro wanted the film to retain the same title as the book I Heard You Paint Houses. Me too, Mr. De Niro.
Coming off of Rian Johnson’s excellent The Last Jedi it is now time for J.J. Abrams to wrap up our third trilogy with (the official title is so very long!) Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. And Abrams does wrap things up in a competent way that shows us the many Star Wars things we’ve come to love.* I think the strength of this trilogy is the Rey-Kylo Ren connection,** and that carries through to this film, which I did liked, but did not love.***
The verdict: Good
Cost: $9.50 Where watched: Baghdad Theater with Matt, Laurie and Burt.
*Witty banter, dashing adventure, situations that always seem hopeless, plus a fun new droid to add to the canon. **Their fight scenes added a lot to this film. *** I am three for three for falling asleep. I missed the “here’s the plan” part.
Questions:
What movies that you first watched as a kid still hold up today?
Do you want more of the Star Wars world? If so, what would you like more of?
Favorite IMDB trivia item:
Disney’s sequel trilogy is the first trilogy in the Star Wars saga in which all three movies were released in the same decade.
The glee about Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite had me reluctantly adding it to my list; when I finally watched it, I was rewarded with a roller coaster of a movie that was just as good as I’d been hearing. Ki-taek and his family’s plight—living in poverty in a sub-basement—had me rooting for them* as Ki-taek seeks to better himself by taking a job as a tutor for a rich family. From there I cycled through so many emotions as the narrative shifted and twisted leaving me gasping aloud several times and reacting verbally** more than once.***
The verdict: Recommended
Cost:$9.00 (though free due to gift card. I did buy $9.00 worth of popcorn and wine) Where watched: Hollywood Theatre
*Throughout the film I loved the family’s interactions. They enjoyed each other’s company and were all in it together, no matter how dire their situation. I rarely see such close-knit families on screen. **What? No! Oh my god! ***This review is intentionally unspecific because it’s best to just go in cold and be rewarded. It gets a bit bloody there in one part, but it’s doable to shield your eyes if you need to.
Today I rode on Car 205, better known as the Gunter Ernst Car. This was the first car of this type that was delivered.
The Gunter Ernst Car is one of the Type 2 Max train cars, which, according to MAX FAQs “have a raised upper deck by each of the cabs, and the sideways-facing seats in the middle of the train (called the C-section, though it has nothing to do with babies) are slightly higher, presumably to have room for the wheels, brakes, and sanding tubes underneath.”
The Type 2 is my favorite of the Max train cars. I like to sit in the raised upper deck.
Would you like to make dozens of people look up? Even while walking? If so, install, and then disassemble, a crane. Not only was I looking up while walking past this, so was everyone else I encountered.
Also, look at this! The wheels aren’t even on the ground! They are being held up by these hydraulic lifts that extend from the crane dissembler thing.
Also. This isn’t a fast process. When I walked by at before eight a.m. they had started and when I left at 4:30 they were still going.
Note from the future. When the quarantine happened in March, the street had still not been reopened. It was close, but hadn’t happened yet.
