1084. The Favourite

The Favourite
2018
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

One of my favorite days I spent in England (and that's coming from a very long list) was when my brother and I visited Hampton Court Palace. On the train ride there we got Bakewell tarts. Come to think of it, that might be the main reason it was my favorite memory. Why don't we have them here in the U.S.? It's a well-documented fact that we love cramming our bodies with butter and sugar. Anyway, here is a picture of the two of us from that day, proving our good looks are, indeed, genetic:

Now back to The Favourite!

In 1704 England, Queen Anne is in very poor health and relies on her Favourite Sarah Churchill for counsel and sexy times. Sarah's cousin, Abigail, arrives at the palace looking for employment, and Sarah lets her be scullery maid. Abigail, however, plots to rise in the ranks, as she is being courted (sort of?) by Mr. Taylor Swift (otherwise known as Joe Alwyn). 

There is a very large market for sexy royal court dramas, both in television and film, but also in literature. It's really been my thing, I feel like the story always hits the same beats, and a large amount of the enjoyment comes from seeing the hot people naked. 

That being said, I really enjoyed this. I liked the style and the black humor of it. I never felt like the director was taking it too far to "put his stamp on things" at the expense of the story or general mood. It was silly in places (there hasn't been such an odd dance scene since Romy and Michelle) but took itself seriously when it needed to do so. Some of the lines of this movie really reverberated with me; whether that is because of the words or the actors' deliveries, I'm not sure.

So another great movie and, once again, Emma Stone is delightful.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

There was a dedicated trailer for wigs.

Film passes the "Reverse-Bechdel" test by one line.

1083. BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman
2018
Directed by Spike Lee

Finally, a movie that deserves its place, that isn't just here because it will attract normies to the List. While I wish some moments of this film had been handled with a bit more subtlety, I am still very glad I saw this. I hope it isn't replaced in future editions with Marvel's Phase Two of Chapter whatever the hell.

In the late 70s, Ron Stallworth, the first black police officer in Colorado Springs, fools a local division of the Ku Klux Klan into thinking he is white over the phone. He recruits a Jewish coworker, Flip Zimmerman, to act as him to meet the Klansmen. The division of the Klan is predictably made up of braindead rednecks united by their hate and inability to pronounce certain words. Ron suspects they are planning a terrorist attack. At the same time, Ron grows closer to Patrice, the president of the Black Student Union, who doesn't know his J-O-B is a police officer. Patrice thinks all police officers are pigs but Ron thinks he can change things from within.

My sister is a kindergarten teacher, and a student asked her the other day "why do police shoot people?" I guess she didn't feel like explaining institutionalized racism (which goes beyond one racist cop just spoiling it for everybody in the department, Lee!). Lee draws very strong parallels between Ron Stallworth's world in the late 70s and today's political climate. Despite the 70s hair cuts and slang, you can tell he is not very interested in creating a period piece. This was a bit heavy handed at times; I felt I was being spoon-fed certain points. I do feel like there is more power in subtlety. No white person is going to watch this and see their own behavior in any of the racist white people's actions in the film, or if they would they wouldn't be watching this movie in the first place. Although I guess Lee's never been interested in studying microaggressions. For the most part, I enjoyed the grim foreshadowing, though it makes me feel very hopeless (I don't think there is a shot in hell that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't reelected).

As a side note, does the KKK still make its members watch Birth of a Nation? That would mean they hate black people SO MUCH they are willing to pretend to like silent movies. Very chilling.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Ron Stallworth actually never used a "white" voice on the phone and still got away with passing as white. So put that in your pipe and smoke it (at least five feet away from me).

Topher Grace said playing David Duke left him so depressed that he edited Peter Jackson's The Hobbit into a two hour movie for fun. Is this available?? Toph, DM me.

Jordan Peele pitched the idea of this movie. Why couldn't he have directed?

1082. Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War
2018
Directed by Anthony Russo

New year, new me! Will this version of myself like superhero movies? Nope. But maybe the new me can be less snarky and judgmental about it? We'll see!

I don't think I will attempt to give a plot summary of this one. For one thing, I haven't seen all the Marvel movies, so I was fairly confused by what was going on. But let's keep that between you and me. I don't want the next guy I go on a first date with, who will inevitably worship these films, to catch wind and launch a seven hour lecture series about the history of the Infinity stones.

There are no stakes in this universe because death isn't real. I found it very amusing that the filmmakers had killed and brought back to life so many characters that they had to keep reminding the audience to try to take them seriously (e.g. when referencing a character's death, another character said "I think it's for real this time!"). It reminded me of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride: is he mostly dead or all the way dead? This, obviously, makes every potentially emotional scene null and void. I am not sure how anyone can feel remotely invested in this story. I am certain some Marvel fans would moan with "such and such character IS all the way dead!" Don't worry, I am sure a scientist and wizard will hold hands in a future installment to forge the Resurrection Stone, don't get your panties in a bunch.

Because the stakes are so low among the main cast, the storytellers are forced to raise the stakes in some other ridiculous way, meaning the heroes must save HALF the universe from Thanos. But we don't really see what they are fighting for. Most of the action takes place in space ships and random Super Mario Galaxy planets. And the filmmakers are so busy cramming stars into every scene (in this context, I mean ridiculously good looking, leather clad hotties, not literal stars), that there is no time for a "oh, THIS is what they are fighting for" scene.

And the dialogue. Sweet Jesus.

Okay, I know these movie are supposed to be charmingly self-aware. But I really think this "self awareness" is just insecurity on the part of the writers. They know what a ridiculous world they have created (which has absolutely zero parameters, meaning it's deus ex machinas abound), so they are constantly poking fun at it before the viewers can on their reddit threads. It's like if all of the characters in the original Star Wars were Han Solo.  Of course, the actors are also ad-libbing and each white guy is fighting to be the smarmiest guy on the green screen at every given moment. And therein lies the reason why these movies are so popular. I am sure many a young man would love to believe that he would be the one attaching dynamite to a space monster's shoulder, delivering some sarcastic comment, flipping him off, and warping into another dimension.

I guess the special effects are cool, but that's not really something that adds to my enjoyment level too much. So maybe steady on the judgment, but improving on my snark?

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Robert Downey Jr. insisted his furniture from his house in LA be shipped to the filming location. Oy.

Chapter Seven of Phase 3 in the Marvel Universe. Oy again.