Update on the Field (4/19/20)
We're now thirty movies into this challenge, and we've watched a movie every day for the past month! This one had a pretty wide variety: we had two musicals, a movie entirely in French, one about partying college baseball players, and even one which randomly interjected a half hour visualization of the Big Bang and the creation of the earth…? Anyway, here are our very brief thoughts on the last ten movies we watched:
4/9/20: The Social Network (2010)
Tom: I kinda just…missed this movie when it came out, and since we've learned so much more about Mark Zuckerberg in the last ten years, I sort of avoided it because I thought it was going to be too glowing and reverential a portrayal of him. It was not. I loved it, top to bottom. Fincher did a great job, and Reznor's score was unbelievable.
Erin: I had watched this movie when it first came out, so I was interested to see if it held up. It does! David Fincher movies have a specific “look” to them. It’s hard to describe. Zodiac, Gone Girl, and The Social Network have this timeless look to them and I really like it. Plus, the music in this film is next level.
4/10/20: The Tree of Life (2011)
Tom: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn, and a coming of age story sounds amazing, right? Wrong. The movie was like two-and-a-half hours (there's a 188 minute director's cut!!!) and for some reason, about 15-20 minutes in, included a half hour montage of the Big Bang, the creation of the earth, dinosaurs, etc. I know there are some people who LOVE this movie. But to me, Terrence Malick just…overthought the whole thing.
Erin: It is hard to overstate how much I disliked this movie. I don’t even know if I would call it a movie. Thirty minutes straight of screen savers of Earth. I thought it was dumb. Sorry!!! It was!!
4/11/20: Les Miserables (2012)
Tom: For those of us who didn’t know the story of Les Mis and avoided this movie like the plague, doesn't it just sound awful? Some old French Revolution crap with Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe singing at each other? Well guess what? I REALLY liked it. Crowe was awful but that sort of made him my favorite.
Erin: I had like, the most fun of my life watching this movie. I watched the first forty minutes of this movie back in the day, but I fell asleep so I thought I didn’t like it. Turns out I was wrong! Yes, some of it is an ironic appreciation for it (Russell Crowe...sir…) but it was such a treat to watch.
4/12/20: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Tom: Here's another one that just kinda slipped by me. I've never been a huge DiCaprio fan, and this movie's like three hours and about terrible people. Again though, consistent with this cycle's theme, my expectations were shattered, and I'm finally ready to admit that Leo deserved Best Actor for this role. It was super fun.
Erin: I feel like a bad feminist for loving this movie. It was so enjoyable and funny. This was maybe the first role where I “got” Leonardo DiCaprio. Plus, it had such Goodfellas vibes. I choose to believe that it was a totally and completely negative portrayal of Jordan Belfort and that no one thought that what he did was cool.
4/13/20: Pride (2014)
Tom: After Wolf of Wall Street, it was great to get back to something with a good heart. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, but it was just a nice, fun story about some extremely resilient and courageous people.
Erin: This little movie makes my heart soar out of my body. I had seen it before and loved it, and my feelings this time around did not change. Great performances, important message, under-reported time in history--just great.
4/14/20: Bridge of Spies (2015)
Tom: I couldn't be more bored by the concept of a two-and-a-half hour Spielberg/Hanks political drama in this day and age, and this was my second time watching this. It's a fine Dad Movie. Mark Rylance is very good. Hanks is #Hanx. If you like those movies, you'll like this one.
Erin: I liked this movie way more than I thought I would! It’s Spielberg, Hanks, and about U.S. history. You know what you are going to get here. What I especially liked that was a little unexpected was the noir-type cinematography. That made it even more enjoyable to watch!
4/15/20: Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
Tom: This was probably the hidden gem of this cycle. It's a story of college baseball players partying before the school year starts. It's by Richard Linklater, the director of Dazed and Confused and Boyhood, among others. He's incredible at developing characters in small moments. It was pure fun and there's only one baseball scene! Loved it.
Erin: It makes me sad that more people haven’t seen this movie. It is just here for a good time and it leaves you in a great mood. I was never a 1980’s college baseball player who loved to party, but the movie was still able to make me feel nostalgic for the freedom, promise, and great times of college.
4/16/20: Okja (2017)
Tom: This movie's been on our list long before this challenge, and we finally got to it. Overall, it had many of the confident, over-the-top Bong Joon-ho elements you know and love, but this time it takes aim at the genetically modified food industry. Lot of acting power in this one, and Okja herself was really cute!
Erin: This is my third Bong Joon-ho movie, and he never disappoints! Okja is the cutest super pig and I love her. What I appreciate about Bong Joon Ho’s movies are that they are so unique, not just from each other, but from other movies overall. I was NOT a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance at all, but I really liked the movie.
4/17/20: Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Tom: I get the appeal of this movie, it just wasn't for me. Emily Blunt was awesome, the kids were good, and Sad Paddington (Saddington?) was a good touch as the dad. Lin-Manuel Miranda's happy face was appropriate for this movie, but man, even as a huge Hamilton fan, I really don't like his singing voice. Fine movie though.
Erin: Pure magic. Emily Blunt was sublime and the look of the film was so beautiful. I wanted to be one of the Banks children. And the costumes! It was so wonderful.
4/18/20: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Tom: I feel like this movie is what Call Me By Your Name wanted to be. It's entirely in French and the two women (one of whom looks exactly like Emma Watson) have such effortless chemistry. The last 15 minutes or so are a perfect example of a director that has the audience in the palm of her hand.
Erin: This movie rocked oh my gosh. It was so beautiful--the bluffs and the waves and the paintings! It so eloquently examined the complexities and pain and wonder of womanhood. Loved it!