The floodgates are starting to open with the last few films of the year and plenty of award hopefuls.
The Mule (58) is a hit among the geriatric set, and why not, given the director and star, Clint Eastwood, is 88? A film about a man down on his luck who ends up smuggling drugs out of Mexico. Not an essential film for me to see right now, but I’ll probably catch up with it.
This week’s flop was Mortal Engines (43), based on a popular novel, but not igniting fan interest. It’s about London becoming a moving, devouring beast, which makes for interesting visual effects but apparently not much more. I think it may have helped to have a star in it–it’s a cast of unknowns.
The best reviewed new wide release film was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (87), which is actually winning a bunch of critics’ awards for best animated film ahead of The Incredibles 2 and Isle of Dogs. Spider-Man has always been my favorite super-hero since I was a kid, so maybe I’m too purist to appreciate this. From what I’ve seen, I don’t like the animation style and the plot summary doesn’t make sense. I’m sure I’ll see it eventually.
In limited release is Vox Lux (70), which seems to be a film about celebrity, but I can’t quite tell from the synopsis. It stars Natalie Portman, and I think I’ve seen every single film she’s ever been in, so why stop now?
Also in limited release, and major Oscar bait, is The Favourite (91). My review is directly below. It figures to get a lot of Oscar nominations, both above and below the line, but something tells me it’s not going to be the winner. Just a hunch.
Two big films debuted on Netflix. Bird Box (51) is a horror film starring Sandra Bullock. I read the book on which it is based. The premise is that some sort of creature has invaded Earth, and just looking at it makes you go crazy, thus if you leave your house you have to go blindfolded. This, to me, seems unfilmable, because as a reader, you never know what these creatures look like, but only imagine them to be too horrifying to see. I’ll be interested to see how they make an interesting film about people walking around blindfolded.
Roma (96) also began streaming on Netflix, and could be the first foreign-language to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 20 years, and even could be the first to actually win it. It won Best Picture for both the New York and L.A. Film critics. A paean to director Alfonso Cuaron’s childhood in Mexico City, it’s being hailed by almost everyone. Can’t wait to see it.
Gone Elsewhere 
Normally I wouldn’t have considered seeing the latest Spiderman film but some people I trust raved about it and factoring in the enormous praise it got elsewhere, I decided to see it.
And it mostly lives up to they hype. I mean, when you break it down it’s a not particularly unconventional story but it does it well. I think an underappreciated strength of the film is that it takes its time in the first 25 minutes or so setting up the main character and his general life so when things go increasingly madcap, we’re still invested in his situation.
And animation wise, it’s a stunner; definitely a case of where you need to see it on the big screen to appreciate. Constantly inventive on that front and in the closing stages it felt even a bit like a 2001: A Space Odyssey experience.
Overall, a fine film that deserves the success it’s getting.
Wasn’t planning to see it originally but got around to seeing ‘The Mule’ and was pleasantly surprised at how engrossing it was.
It has its clunky scenes and moments and the first half is only mildly interesting, but it develops into not only a profound take on the central character, but also makes some surprisingly subtle and sharp observations on the bigotry present in modern America and also some quite smart criticism about American law & order agencies who ‘do their job’ for little positive purpose except destroying lives.
Worth seeking out.