'Mid90s' Review

Hello everyone! I realize it's almost been a month since I last shared a review, but that's largely due to a series of extenuating circumstances I've dealt with these last few weeks. If you'd like to know about the cause of these delays, I'll indulge you with a paragraph rambling about such. Otherwise, feel free to go ahead and proceed to the review. 

Aside from facing plenty of schoolwork, I mostly didn't go out to the theater much last month due to lacking interest in most of the new releases. However, I was also out of town for the weekend of October 21st, so I didn't go to the theater that weekend, then my car was broken into and my laptop was stolen mere days after I returned from that outing and a day after I saw a screening of Mid90s  Since that's what I used to write reviews and create promotional banner images, this review was put on the back-burner. I went ahead and purchased a new laptop, but had to deal with importing my most recent back-up (luckily, my Mac backed up the day it was stolen, so I didn't lose any files). Then, I, of course, had homework assignments to complete and turn in. After that, I made more progress on a video about Star Wars: The Last Jedi I've been working on since September. I plan to have that completed by December 15th to share on the year anniversary of The Last Jedi's theatrical release for those curious. Then, I got sick at the tail-end of last week and was home practically all last weekend. Again, wasn't able to get out and watch anything at the theater. Since I was stuck at home, I began binge-watching Breaking Bad for the first time and admittedly became quite obsessed with the series (watching all five seasons in about six days and starting Better Call Saul soon afterward). 

Anyways, I went out to see Bohemian Rhapsody with a friend this Tuesday and then saw Suspiria (2018) Thursday evening so you can expect reviews for those two films in the coming days. I'll soon be seeing Overlord, Beautiful Boy, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald so look forward to those reviews as well. Otherwise, I haven't really seen anything new in a while so I'll try and catch up where I can, but don't be surprised if I just never get around to certain films due to November's crowded slate of releases.

'Mid90s' Review

Mid90s follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old boy living in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.

Serving as his feature-length directorial debut, Mid90s is written and directed by Jonah Hill. Though Mid90s admittedly isn't as impressive as many of this year's other feature directorial debuts, Hill's film is a sold coming-of-age story, to say the least. Like its central crew of skaters, Mid90s is a little rough around the edges, but its imperfections only enable the film to feel all the more authentic when all is said-and-done. The story's structured rather sloppily yet the human drama manages to be quite affecting in moments. The editing's a little less than ideal, but the film flows fairly well at a brisk hour and twenty-five minutes. For all its faults, Mid90s still manages to successfully persevere and endear. 

Without a doubt, the camaraderie and kinship amongst the skaters is the film's primary selling point. Hill wisely went out on a limb by casting non-professional actors, but the decision paid off since their youthful exuberance felt much more genuine. Na-kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, and Ryder McLane each effectively underscore that juvenile sensibility while the young eleven-year-old Sunny Suljic turns in an excellent lead performance, exhibiting maturity and depth far beyond his years. Otherwise, Katherine Waterston made for a credible, authoritative figure as Stevie's mother who was ultimately underserved by the script while Lucas Hedges seemed miscast as an abusive older brother. 

The only other thing that somewhat bothered me was how Hill seemed to glorify underage drinking, drug use, and sex, seeing as children partake in each of those. The latter of which was especially awkward, though nothing was technically shown. I understand the audience is witnessing all of these events through the eyes of adolescent boys, but much of this had no bearing on the story at hand so it could have easily been cut out.

Narratively, Mid90s ticks many of the boxes indie coming-of-age films tend to abide by, but Mid90s still skates confidently into its stride on behalf of its assured direction, prime performances, and endearing imperfections.

Film Assessment: B

'Lady Bird' Review

[This review was originally written in November 2017 and is now being published that my internship is over. For an explanation of this, visit my Fall 2017 Important Update post.] 

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Greta Gerwig, Best Actress; Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Actress; Laurie Metcalf, and Best Original Screenplay.

Lady Bird flies alongside Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a rebellious and strong-willed teenage girl intent on defying her mother at nearly every turn in her senior year of high school in Sacramento, California. The film then encompasses her experience balancing school work, her debut in the realm of musical theater, friendships, romantic relationships, and a turbulent family life while doing her darnedest to get accepted in any prestigious East Coast university.

Lady Bird is a comedic coming of age story written and directed by Greta Gerwig, functioning as Gerwig's solo directorial debut, which will surprise most considering that Gerwig seems to have a firm handle on things for her first solo outing. Some have said that Gerwig may have loosely based the events around her own teenage years, but regardless of whether the film is based on actual events or not, everything in Lady Bird is fully fleshed out and realized to the point where I thought this must have been based on real life events because the film felt so genuine. 

One of the best things about Lady Bird though is how the film offers a fresh perspective on a seemingly typical coming of age narrative. Gerwig doesn't simply focus on one element of Lady Bird's life, but rather soaks it all in. I'd liken Lady Bird to last year's The Edge of Seventeen, but the films are radically different from one another in spite of their similar approaches of peeking into a teenage girl's day-to-day life. Like this year's other stand-out comedy, The Big Sick, Lady Bird also doesn't bother to fabricate events for the sake of a laugh, but the silly situations and priceless dialogue rather feel like things these characters would do or say in real life. This only makes the events funnier as comedies often try so hard to sell a gag that they lose sight of the likelihood it could or would ordinarily happen on its own. 

At its core, Lady Bird is all about a rocky mother-daughter relationship, and it's thanks to actresses Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf that their mother-daughter dynamic comes across as both endearing and strained. Ronan really digs into the role, as Lady Bird is easily one of her quirkiest characters to date, while Metcalf realistically portrays the complexities of an over-worked mother who aims to keep her daughter in check. Metcalf excels at ensuring Marion comes across as a harsh, but loving mother, so the pathos is present and believe me, you'll be on the verge of tears (if not actually crying for whatever reason) towards the film's conclusion.

Filling out the remaining supporting characters are various actors you may recognize including the beaming Beanie Feldstein, Manchester By The Sea's subdued star Lucas Hedges, the apathetically-driven Odeya Rush, Call Me By Your Name's breakout actor Timothée Chalamet, and Tracy Letts as Lady Bird's best friend Julie, Lady Bird's first boyfriend Danny, the popular girl Jenna, the cool Kyle, and Lady Bird's lovable father Larry. Each actor delivers a performance differentiated from their prior work, so there are ample opportunities for their characters to shine.

Lady Bird is simply one of those captivating coming of age stories that don't come around too often. Lady Bird doesn't just fly away as one of the year's funniest comedies. It also soars as one of the year's best films on account of its accomplished direction, sharp script, and committed cast. 

Film Assessment: A

'Manchester By The Sea' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Kenneth Lonergan Best Actor; Casey Affleck, Best Supporting Actor; Lucas Hedges, Best Supporting Actress; Michelle Williams, and Best Original Screenplay.
Won: Best Actor; Casey Affleck and Best Original Screenplay.

Manchester By The Sea follows the life of handyman Lee Chandler as he suddenly learns that due to his brother's passing he must become his teenage nephew's guardian but he's not quite sure he can handle it based on some preceding personal events that I won't spoil here.

Manchester By The Sea is currently one of three frontrunners in this upcoming awards race standing alongside La La Land and Moonlight in all the major categories, and these films couldn't be any more different. Where La La Land is a musical about pursing your dreams and some of the harsh realities that accompany that, Moonlight tells the coming of age story about an outsider, and Manchester By The Sea is a drama about grief and the complications of life. 

Manchester By The Sea is written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan and he did an incredible job of making these characters and situations not only real but somewhat relatable, as the struggles these characters endure are struggles everyone encounters in their lives. The film is relatively simplistic in all departments but that takes it one step closer to feeling all the more authentic. It's well-shot with straightforward handsome shots of the ocean waves from Jody Lee Lipes, well-edited with seamless transitions by Jennifer Lame between the present day and flashbacks taking a peek at the events that shaped Lee, and extremely well-directed and well-written by Lonergan thanks to his emphasis on making everything seem genuine. 

I think my favorite aspect of Manchester By The Sea is that despite being categorized as a drama, nothing feels overdramatic for the sake of conflict or grabbing the viewer's attention. In fact, everything in Manchester By The Sea feels authentic and plausible from awkward conversations to the layered depictions of the story's characters.

Casey Affleck puts forth a subdued performance as Lee Chandler perfectly capturing the complex nature of someone in grief or that's undergone heavy amounts of personal trauma. Affleck plays Chandler as a reserved man with a hardened exterior and while it's off-putting at first, you sympathize for the character once you learn his backstory and the performance really does deserve the praise it's garnered thus far.

Lucas Hedges plays Lee's nephew, Patrick, in the ideal middle ground between a self-absorbed jerk and a whiny brat with a more sincere turn at an actual teenager. He says it himself, he's on the hockey team, has two girlfriends, and is in a band. Hedges makes a nice impression here and stands well alongside Affleck despite being such a young actor.

Michelle Williams is being heavily talked for this and I feel she put forth a great performance but I'm not quite sure she's a standout when compared to her co-stars as Lee's ex-wife Randi. Elsewhere, Matthew Broderick, Kyle Chandler, C.J. Wilson, and Gretchen Mol have decent turns as important players in the story.

In summary, Manchester By The Sea has strong confident direction and formidable screenplay from Kenneth Lonergan, features exceptional performances from Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges, and is simply a beautiful film about grief. Manchester By The Sea is an authentic cinematic experience that may not be for everyone but is certainly one of the more emotionally resonant films I've seen this year.

Film Assessment: A