1243. Nomadland

Nomadland
2020
Directed by Chloe Zhao

I have once again reached the end of the List, which is something I've now bragged about three times on this blog. When the List comes out with a new update, there will be a fourth time. Honestly, I didn't find any new favorites among the updates, but it was interesting to see what was being created during such a weird time in the world.

In 2011, Fern loses her job after the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada closes, closing the town with it. Fern sells most of possessions and buys a van. She dubs it Vanguard, and roams the country looking for work. She starts to establish relationships with some other nomads, but remains untethered to life.

This is probably the most impressive performance I've seen from the new batch, and it comes right at the end. Frances McDormand is literally in every scene of this movie. She genuinely feels real, not like a Hollywood glamazon who became a size four for the role. I don't know if we had to see her defecate, but I guess that's life in the van.

This reminds me of the documentary on the List Surfwise, which showcased the life of a family of nomads. To me, it feels like a transition to death, and therefore, not something you should enforce on your children.

So until next time! Happy viewing!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

McDormand lived in a van for five months to prepare for the role.

Empire, Nevada is a real place that was owned and shut down by US Gypsum.

1242. Lovers Rock

Lovers Rock
2020
Directed by Steve McQueen

This is an odd selection, as it is a part of anthology series called Small Axe. I wonder if people who are truly obsessed with the List will have to watch the entirety of Small Axe. What psychos! Now onto my entry number 1242.

The film mostly shows black people dancing together at house parties, like that scene in Dirty Dancing when Baby arrives with the watermelon. It's a nice change to see Black joy shared on screens, since a lot of films starring African Americans tend to showcase their miseries and pain.

So the music is good, but not much happens. But it's short, so worth a watch.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The film takes its name from a popular musical genre in 1970s London, which was a blend of reggae and R&B.

1241. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Never Rarely Sometimes Always
2020
Directed by Eliza Hittman

Kudos to the List for including so many female directors in this update. Abortion as a topic hasn't popped up too often on this blog. I am grateful the subject is actually being covered by women.

Pennsylvania continues to embarrass me by providing the setting for this story. Seventeen-year-old Autumn is unable to get an abortion in Pennsylvania without parental consent. She does her best to terminate the pregnancy herself, when that doesn't work, she turns to her cousin Skylar. Skylar manages to steal enough money for bus tickets to New York, so Autumn can get her abortion. 

This was a tough watch, particularly the grueling pregnancy clinic appointments. The film did an outstanding job portraying how vulnerable teenage girls are, and how they are just under a constant barrage of attacks on their body. 

The two leads brought freshness and sensitivity to their roles, which was no doubt funded by their lack of experience. I like the moments of hope sprinkled in the story. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Sidney Flanigan beat out more than a hundred actors for her role.

1240. Soul

Soul
2020
Directed by Peter Docter and Kemp Powers

Madeline L'Engle said "You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children." Pixar always tackles subjects that are very difficult for adults to process, and anthropomorphizes feelings we didn't know we had. At least, that's been my experience. I know some people refuse to watch animation, but they are missing out on some very thoughtful films.

Pixar has come up with very depressing content, but this might be the darkest of the bunch. Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher, receives his first big break as a jazz musician. Because Pixar characters are not allowed to be happy, he immediately falls into a manhole and dies. Well, he's not really dead. There's a chance he can rejoin his soul with his body, if he is able to wrangle unruly soul 22, who doesn't want to come to Earth. If he is able to find soul 22's spark, he can use their Earth pass to come back. It's trippy.

I am here for the Jaime Foxx/Tina Fey pairing. They had great comedic chemistry and emotional depth which is doubly impressive given that they weren't in the same room when they were saying their lines. The visuals are obviously stunning.

I still don't think this is the best offering from Pixar, but you'll still get a good cry out of it.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Tina Fey helped write her character's lines.

Elements of the Great Before share similarities with the Mormons' views on pre existence.

First Disney movie to be released straight to the streaming service.

1239. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2020
Directed by George Wolfe 

This is one of those films that makes you feel guilty for not praising it. Sure the performances were outstanding, but I spent most of the movie wading through monologues, hoping something would happen soon.

Ma Rainey is a blues singer/diva. I don't blame her, if I had star power I would make similar demands about Diet Dr. Pepper as she does about Coke.  Levee Green is the band's trumpeter, and his personality immediately clashes with the rest of the group.

Viola Davis convincingly became Ma Rainey, but Chadwick Boseman stole the show, he had much more interesting things to do. It felt very staged and trapped to me, but that's adaptations of plays for you. 

Good ending though, even if the climax was melodramatic.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

The black bottom refers to a dance craze popular among African Americans during the time in the rural South.

Filmed in Pittsburgh. Well, it's interesting to me, because I live there.

With this film, Davis became the most Oscar nominated actress of African-American descent.

1238. Tenet

Tenet 
2020
Directed by Christopher Nolan

I was surprised to learn that this movie wasn't based on a video game. Even calling the main character "The Protagonist" is very video game-y. Since I wasn't playing this, I found it to be rather tedious. Also, I don't like time travel stories, which never seem to invite deep thought.

A secret agent capable of manipulating the flow of time attempts to prevent a catastrophic attack. And naturally there is a damsel in distress, and a super villain played by a well-respected British actor. 

Why do action movies have to be so long? I didn't find this movie particularly interesting. That being said, there were some cool touches placed that stylized the universe, like the backward speech and unique action scenes. 

But there were enough familiar action tropes to stop this from being truly unique, even if it was very polished.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Only used practical effects. 

The main cast learned to speak backwards for their roles.

Robert Pattinson based on his accent on Christopher Hitchens.

1237. Saint Maud

Saint Maud
2019
Directed by Rose Glass

I am perfectly content watching bad horror movies. My siblings and I spend an inordinate amount of time watching films that range from the sort of okay to the truly dreadful. I think this was needlessly upsetting at some moments, but it sure freaked me out. Probably because the object of the religious zealot obsession was an atheist named Amanda.

Maud is a private geriatric nurse caring for Amanda, a terminally ill former dancer that is reasonably embittered by her fate. Maud resolves to save her soul. I think I had a friend like this in high school, she promised to put in a good word for me at the pearly gates.

When you combine religious fervor with at home nurse care, it's pretty unsettling. This movie felt like a blend of Misery meets Carrie.  The lead gave a terrifying performance equal to Kathy Bates. Great final moment as well.

I guess it is replacing Hereditary on the List to represent modern horror. Hereditary is more chilling, but a pretty freaky addition nonetheless.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

No bible verse is recited despite the heavily religious themes in the film.

1236. Rocks

Rocks
2019
Directed by Sarah Gavron

If watching a young woman dissolve before your eyes didn't provide you with enough emotional devastation, the premise of this movie should do the trick. Actually, the story turned out to be more uplifting than I thought it would be. It didn't wallow it in its own misery like other films that tackle these topics. Not that there isn't sufficient misery out there to wallow in, but it's a pretty rough way of spending your time.

A single mother abandons her children, leaving Rocks to take care of her little brother. Rocks does her best to avoid being taken into child services.

Usually in movies like this there is maybe one white counselor who cares, and the rest of the world cruelly abandons the main character. This time, Rocks did have people who cared about her. Unfortunately, her mom was not one of them. 

Rocks was a heart-warming character, and I love any story that takes place in London. So an unexpected pleasure.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Crew consisted of 75% women.

1235. The Assistant

The Assistant
2019
Directed by Kitty Green

It hurt my heart to see Mr. Darcy behave in this way. It was pretty tough to sit through, and not just because my number one literary crush portrayed a cog in the misogyny machine, but because it hit a little too close to home. I am sure this is a feeling shared by most women who watch this.

The movie follows Jane's work day from start to finish, as she is painfully and systematically degraded by the men in the office. Some of her coworkers are outright tools, while others are sneakier about their douchebaggery. But each man probably goes to bed that night thinking he helped her in some way.

The director did an excellent job of capturing moments of sexism throughout the day, the moments that do not manifest itself into two men leering at a woman while she bends over the water cooler like in the sexual harassment training videos. Julia Garner gave a phenomenal performance as a woman who is slowly being drained of life. Most of us have experience having that job feels like it is denigrating you into nothing.

So two movies in, and the List is really bumming me out again. I'm back!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The drugs Jane puts in the storage box are for erectile dysfunction. 

1234. The Vast of Night

The Vast of Night
2019
Directed by Andrew Patterson

I thought I had escaped from this life. I settled down to a nice boring day job, married a boring woman who is always folding laundry, and had boring suburban kids. Then, one day, while taking the out the trash after dinner, I see on the news that my arch nemesis is blowing up banks again. I must once again don my cape and face the demons I thought I had left in my past. 

In other words, I couldn't resist coming back here for the new edition. I am pleased with the some of the removals (no more Avengers, hurray!) and haven't seen any of the new additions. But I'm game for ten new entries. Now that I am done with albums and movies, I've been all about my book list lately and I'm looking to stray from the marriage.

In 1950s New Mexico, Everett and his friend Fay test out Fay's new tape recorder before the male athlete's basketball get-together. The film does a good job endearing us to the characters. Most teenagers portrayed in movies are completely insufferable, so this is commendable. Everett starts his shift at the WOTW radio station, but is interrupted by a mysterious audio signal. Everett puts out the signal to his listeners to see if they have any answers. Some do.

Twilight Zone fans (Zoners?) will appreciate the homage to their soul reason for existence. Even though I was never a huge Zoner, I still found this to be a charming, nostalgic hidden gem. Science fiction movies have a bad habit of cutting away at the most interesting part. Okay, it's guilty of that somewhat too, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Title is taken from a line in the Tempest.