Hello again!!!

As subtly foreshadowed in my previous blog, I have a very exciting MID-MONTH supplement! One of the things that drew my unblinking, unlidded eye of fire towards Montclair, NJ was their film nonprofit Montclair Film. They support not one, but TWO independent movie theaters and run their own film festival every year. YES this is also an advertisement to move to Montclair!

Last year, over the festival’s two weekends I saw a paltry nine movies. This year, with renewed commitment to film going, and accompanied by friends (who I wore down into film going) — I am pleased to have brought that number up to 11 feature films and 2/5ths of the Scorsese documentary.

As we look forward to this annual season of award, I thought it would be fun to put together a completely subjective guide to upcoming films based on what I saw therein.  Hopefully you can target some films you might love or hate!

Everyone loves a list and a bullet point! 

Presented in the order I remembered seeing them:

What: Sentimental Value 
What, cont: Aging film director Stellan Skarsgård attempts to reconnect with his semi-estranged daughters through the power of moviemaking. Emotions ensue. 
Who: Directed by Joachim Trier, Starring Stellan Skarsgard, Renate Reinsve, Inga Inbsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, the platonic ideal house 
How: In the theater Nov 7th!
MDO (MD’s Opinion, trying out a new abbrv.) I did not see Worst Person in the World and was therefore unfamiliar with Renate Reinsve’s game. She. is. the. one. Actually all the actors turn in absolutely effervescent performances. I wish I could watch the last scene over and over. 
Watch It If You Love: Beautiful acting, eldest daughter catharsis, filmmaking as therapy, Architectural Digest home tours
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Sentimentality, values
Popular Thematic Thrulines: magic of the movies, actors playing actors, Hamlet, Netflix, beautiful homes, one long take to rule them all

What: No Other Choice 
What, cont: When Lee Byung-hun is laid off from his longtime job making paper, he executes a murderous plan in order to secure his next role. Economic panic ensues. 
Who: Directed by Park Chan-wook, Starring Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin  
How: In theaters Dec 25 (limited) 
MDO: If you read the Nov blog, you know I am Director Park STAN. All of his films are so beautifully crafted, no one is doing it like him. Ugh, Decision to Leave was so good. He makes it feel so good to feel absolutely terrible, and No Other Choice is no exception — and it’s a comedy (sort of!)
Watch It If You Love: Director Park, existential dread, beautiful things, terrible things, pulp
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Being reminded that late stage capitalism is here to doom us all, classical music 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Beautiful homes, Netflix, the state of the world today (bad!)

What: It Was Just An Accident 
What, cont:  In Iran, a rag-tag group of former government prisoners must decide if a man they have taken hostage is their torturer, and if so, what to do about it. 
Who: Directed by Jafar Panahi, Starring Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Majid Panahi, Hadis Pakbaten, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
How: In theaters now! 
MDO: Director Jafar Panahi himself has been arrested by the Iranian government multiple times, subsequently banned from filmmaking, and then made a Palme d’Or winner in secret. If that’s not enough, Panahi is a MAESTRO of tone control, a regular tonal Lydia Tár. In turns the film is harrowing, hopeful, funny, sentimental, and bone chilling — often within the same scene.
Watch It If You Love: Effortless ensemble acting, ACAB, movies as protest, TONE 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Existential dread, literal dread 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: the state of the world today (bad!), one long take to rule them all

What: Hamnet 
What, cont: Adaptation of the novel that delves into the life of Shakespeare’s wifey, Agnes, and how the death of their son inspired thee Hamlet. 
Who: Directed by Chloé Zhao, Starring: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn
How: In theaters November 26th 
MDO: This movie really couldn’t have been more my jam. I am (famously) obsessed with Paul Mescal, and also like any good ex-theater girly, Shakespeare and his oeuvre. One may say this film is engineered to deliver its ending, but the ending WORKED for me ya’ll. IT WORKED. 
Watch It If You Love: Shakespeare, witch women who emerge from the forest, dramaturgy 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Grief, lack of indoor plumbing, the embrace of the natural world 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Actors playing actors, Hamlet

What: Magellan
What, cont: A sort of biopic looking at the latter half of Ferdinand Magellan’s life, his travels, and his colonizing.
Who: Directed by Lav Diaz, Starring: Gael García Bernal 
How: no wide release date 
MDO: Lav Diaz is renowned as one of the leading directors of slow cinema, and when I say slow I mean like his films are usually between 3 and 9 hours. So at 2 hours 36 minutes, Magellan is practically a breeze! I had never seen anything quite like this, and it was a singular filmgoing experience. He holds frames for minutes at a time, pausing to listen to the rain in the forest, or watch a community go about their day. Watching it feels more like walking through a museum, with every painting in turn beautiful, brutal, and arresting. Not a film for a chill Friday night, but definitely worth seeking out if you are interested in expanding your film horizons (as long as it’s not to a land that you then ruthlessly colonize). 
Watch It If You Love: Expanding your horizons, ASMR, seeing colonizers get got 
Don’t Watch It If: You need a movie with “accessible narrative” and “dialogue”, 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Singular!!

What: The Secret Agent 
What, cont: Part family drama, part spy thriller, part 70s pulp cinema dream. A man returns to his hometown in 1970s Brazil, trying to escape the ghosts of his past literally and metaphorically.
Who: Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho , Starring: Wagner Moura
How: In theaters  Nov 26 (NY), Dec 5 (LA) 
MDO: I’ve listed these movies in no particular order, but after distance and reflection from the festival, I am ready to say that this was the film I loved most coming out of it. And I’ve stuck it here right in the middle!! Chaotic! The Secret Agent is an explosion: bright and colorful, unapologetically bold in its narrative, riotously scored, and absolutely packed with brilliant performances. The Secret Agent creates its own complete universe informed by history, and the language of the movies. Wagner Moura also turns in a real movie star performance that is both emotional and hot. Make movies hot again!! 
Watch It If You Love: Wagner Moura’s silken vocal stylings, One Battle After Another, being horny and sad, legs
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: The 1970s, tension, being reminded that dictators are bad
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies

What: Hedda 
What, cont: An adaptation of the classic Ibsen play Hedda Gabler set in the (19)50s, but Lovberg is a lesbian instead of a dude. 
Who: Directed by Nia DaCosta, Starring Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots 
How: Streaming on Amazon Prime 
MDO: Glad I gave you the context of my theater girliness earlier in this post - it strikes again! Love Ibsen obvi, and I am always down to see an updated Hedda Gabler. DaCosta makes some changes to the text, which are interesting, but don’t feel entirely baked through. It looks very pretty, and everyone is locked in, but it feels a little too ‘yassified’. As an adaptation, it could have been changed even more to brush up the themes to a modern era, or kept in tact to better illustrate the message of the original work. Wish this had been louder, gayer, sexier, and more audacious.  Beautiful gowns though. 
Watch It If You Love: Saying ‘slay’, Nina Hoss, vibes 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Parties where no one goes home, ambiguous accents
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Beautiful homes

What: Nouvelle Vague 
What, cont: A fictionalized account of the ‘making of’ Godard’s New Wave cinema masterpiece  Breathless 
Who: Directed by Richard Linklater, Starring Guillaume Marbeck, Aubry Dullin, Zoey Deutch 
How: Streaming on Netflix
MDO: I’ve seen some critics say this movie is superfluous, but I’m here to say I was CHARMED. It’s hard not to love something when Linklater wants you to love it! Makes you feel like you’re back in film school going to class and then spending 12 hours of your Saturday shooting a cantankerous 22-year-old’s short film (complimentary). Somehow Linklater has made two movies this year (this and Blue Moon) about the greats of two different mediums that feel simultaneously in total conversation and world’s apart. Never change, Linky!!! 
Watch It If You Love: Crushing on young Truffaut in your history of cinema text book, French New Wave, being romantic about everything 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Film boys being film boys, smoking
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies, Actors playing actors, Netflix 

What: Resurrection 
What, cont: Honestly, idk. An anthology…sort of … about dreams…and story telling… and consciousness? 
Who: Directed by Bi Gan, Starring: Shun Qi, Mark Chao, Jackson Yee 
How: US Release TBD
MDO: Just because I can’t really articulate what this movie is about does not mean I didn’t love it! The official logline will tell you this is about a future where humanity has lost the ability to dream - which ya I guess! Literally it’s a half dozen vignettes stitched together to form a dreamlike tapestry spanning time. It’s noir, it’s futuristic, it’s not not Blade Runner coded? It has a long take that will blow your mind. If you get the chance to see this, my suggestion is just to submit. It’s worth it! 
Watch It If You Love: Day dreaming, visceral sound design, being transported through time and space
Don’t Watch It If You: need to “understand” what’s “happening”
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies, one long take to rule them all

What: Jay Kelly 
What, cont: Fictional movie star “Jay Kelly” (played by George Clooney) looks back on his life, legacy, and the sacrifices he made in pursuit of stardom. 
Who: Directed by Noah Baumbach, Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig 
How: In theaters Nov 14, on Netflix Dec 5
MDO: George Clooney plays a sort of avatar of himself - an internationally famous movie star reflecting on his own fame blah blah. But this movie struggles to decide whether it wants to be about George Clooney specifically or not George Clooney - just like it struggles to commit to emotional sincerity or biting Hollywood satire. ‘Jay Kelly’ has details both ripped from Clooney’s own life, but then also huge areas of difference - and is painted seemingly as a Tom Cruise-style action star. I will say though, I am not really a ‘Sandler-head’ but he was GREAT in this. Also HUGE missed opportunity to include E.R. at a climactic moment. Major. Giant.
Watch It If You Love: George Clooney! Unresolved sexual tension with Laura Dern, reflecting on your legacy 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Unresolved emotional beats, George Clooney 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Magic of the movies, Actors playing actors, Netflix

What: Rental Family 
What, cont: Brendan Fraser works for a talent agency in Japan that sends actors to perform as friends and family into people’s real lives. 
Who: Directed by Hikari, Starring: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto
How: In theaters Nov 21 
MDO: I feel like this is the kind of movie that doesn’t get made anymore, it’s just about people doing their best and being buddies, feel good stuff! At it’s best, adorable Brendan Fraser roams around Tokyo learning life truths and connecting with children. At its worst it has some uninvestigated themes and ideas that borderline on horrifying the more you think about them. I will say there was one scene in this where I did legit lmfao. 
Watch It If You Love: Suspending your existential horror for feel good vibes, actors doing their best, Japan! 
Don’t Watch It If You Hate: Ignoring potential lifelong trauma, actors doing their worst 
Popular Thematic Thrulines: Actors playing actors

And bonus! I saw 2 hours of Mr Scorsese because that’s all they were showing and I need to wait to get another Apple product for the free AppleTV+ sub to find out what happens in his post Taxi Driver career!

What: Mr Scorsese 
What, cont: A documentary about the man, the myth, the legend. 
Opinion: If you like Mr. S, you will like this. Bless this asthmatic cinema loving little man, we are so lucky he survived doing all that cocaine in the 80s. 
Counter Opinion:   As the young man behind me so succinctly said when the lights came up “I thought there was going to be action, that was just old guys yapping” 

Happy movie watching! Just realized that due to my own self imposed structure, I have to write a whole ‘nother thing by the end of the month.

Okay love you bai!