Being a Fat Narcissist Isn’t Easy
August 1st – August 14th
Badlands — Terrence Malick’s first feature film. I think I still like the esoteric later stuff better. But you can certainly see where Malick was finding beauty in a film like this, which is certainly more narratively straightforward than later works. Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen are wonderful. And upon looking back, the violence that takes place, while misguided, certainly starts from an accepted place.
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench — A small indie musical delivered in black and white 16mm. Very entertaining. A good find.
Soldier in the Rain — The first in our new Steve McQueen marathon. For me, this film was all about the love that comes out of a good friendship. It doesn’t have to be romantic or sexual to still be love. There’s a man’s love for his dog. There’s the unlikely friendship between soldiers of different ranks and backgrounds. And there’s the unlikely friendship between a teenager and an older man. I think one could argue, if they wanted to, that Eustis and Metzler had their own kind of friendship. The kind which is best, in the case of the military, not asked or told.
I liked how the film steadily progressed from something silly (that first scene was silly and a bit off-putting) to something with some emotional depth. The friendships all seemed unlikely at the start. But by the end, the emotional stuff coming from Slaughter’s death seemed completely earned. Sure its still a trifle of a film. But a nice early Bromance to be sure. A good start, I thought.
The Adjustment Bureau — Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, this was a fun scifi-ish diversion. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are wonderful as the leads. The chase scene at the end was a lot of fun. But the denouement was a bit too preachy and over-explained. A little more mystery would have been preferred.
