Update on the Field (5/9/20)

And we keep chugging along – we've watched a movie on fifty straight days! I think we both consider this cycle an upgrade over the last one. We watched some interesting movies this time around and I think we both liked every single one! Here's what we thought: 

4/29/20: Winter's Bone (2010)
Tom: If you, like me, got really sick of Jennifer Lawrence after her run from 2012-2015, you should watch this movie. I loved this movie when I first saw it and I loved it this time. She's really phenomenal in this. And shoutout to the ATM Meth Lady from Breaking Bad for having a standout supporting performance too.
Erin: I have been waiting to see this movie for a long time. It was a totally immersive look into this sort of insular community living in the Ozarks. Jennifer Lawrence gave such a strong performance (duh, this is the movie that put her on the map!) and I loved that the movie was a study of these complex characters. What I really liked about the movie is that it’s not neatly tied up into a bow at the end. Life’s conflicts are rarely resolved fully, and Winter’s Bone shows that in a poignant way.

4/30/20: We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
Tom: I wasn't sure about this one going into it, but I thought it was a fascinating view of motherhood from the perspective of a woman whose child committed a horrific act. Tilda Swinton rules. This was also the first movie I ever liked Ezra Miller in – he plays a convincing sick teen with sociopathic tendencies. John C. Reilly is great too.
Erin: Hilarious, heartwarming movie! Just kidding, this was really dark and a scary look at life from the view of a woman living with guilt, tragedy, and grief. I loved seeing Tilda Swinton in a lead role. As always, she brings something new but still familiar and human to the role. It was really fascinating to be able to explore this extremely difficult and traumatic subject of a young man doing the unthinkable from the view of the mother.

5/1/20: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Tom: This is the second movie I liked Ezra Miller in! I haven't read the book, so I thought some of the reveals came out of left field, but for a coming-of-age movie, there were some really interesting ideas in this one. I also found it interesting that the author of the book directed the movie. That's pretty cool.
Erin: I read the book and watched the movie when I was in high school, but was excited to be able to rewatch the film from the perspective of a teacher and adult. While this movie is not perfect (a little rushed when it comes to mental health issues, plus Emma Watson’s accent yikes) I truly believe that it is an important piece of young adult media that helps real teens year after year. It’s lovely to see teenagers struggling to figure out who they are in such an unflinching way.

5/2/20: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Tom: This has been on my list for a long time because I love the Coen brothers and Oscar Isaac. It hits prime Coen brothers screenwriting territory when Isaac drives to Chicago with John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund. The movie was dark, but charming, and Oscar Isaac is a just a bona fide star.
Erin: This was such a great movie! Oscar Isaac is an actor that elevates any movie he is in, so for him to be the star in this one was a total treat. The Coen Brothers tell a simple story of a struggling 1960’s folk singer and are able to fill the running time with equal parts sorrow, laughter, and singing. I think that this is a movie that will be considered a masterpiece in a few decades.

5/3/20: Boyhood (2014)
Tom: This was my second time watching this movie and it's just a complete filmmaking marvel. I'm probably going to write a full-on article about the movie at some point because I have a lot to say. The scope of filming the same people over a 12-year span is just unbelievable.
Erin: I can officially say that I’m a Richard Linklater fan. What an achievement with this film. I can’t imagine the amount of work and imagination it took to film over the course of twelve years, especially to have an end product that is both “of the time” and timeless. This is one time where I am totally fine with a long movie--if you take over a decade to make the movie, making it 2.75 hours is a necessity.

5/4/20: Paddington (2015)
Tom: I can only imagine what Erin's blurb about this is going to be like (we don't read each other's before we write our own). For me, if you're looking for basically comfort food in the form of a movie, watch Paddington. Yes there's a death early on but the rest of the movie is marmalade sandwiches and…commentary on immigration? And Nicole Kidman is a great villain.
Erin: PADDINGTON FOREVER! I love this movie so much. My king Paddington ONLY stars in movies with social commentary, and his first film tackles immigration and belonging with charm and subtlety. It’s full of heart and is genuinely really really funny. I can’t say enough about these movies.

5/5/20: 20th Century Women (2016)
Tom: I wasn't super excited going into this but I ended up liking it a lot. From the same director as Beginners, this movie was similarly charming. I didn't expect part of it to be an eye into the 1960s and 1970s punk and hardcore scene in New York, but it was super cool. Annette Bening was phenomenal.
Erin: This one also totally worked for me! What a great set of movies this time around. This is a story of a single mom and her son living in the 1970’s, and carries really thought-provoking questions about womanhood, manhood, and what growing up in different times means when it comes to growing up. Plus, Annette Bening is truly next level--she is so underrated as an actress. Greta Gerwig was great too. What can’t she do?!

5/6/20: A Fantastic Woman (2017)
Tom: Among movies about the trans experience, I thought this was much more compelling than The Danish Girl. This one takes place in Chile and is about a woman whose older rich partner suddenly dies. Her life suddenly gets turned upside down by the partner's relatives who don't want to associate their memories of him with the protagonist. She gave a really nuanced performance and it was an interesting movie.
Erin: This was such a wonderful film. Actress Daniela Vega is an absolute star. This Chilean film is about a transgender woman dealing with the aftermath of the death of her older partner. I loved seeing this woman’s story told with such care, and I think it could truly influence its audience to be more empathetic and to see themselves in others. Really lovely film.

5/7/20: Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
Tom: So I didn't grow up watching Mr. Rogers and always thought his whole vibe was a little weird. I'm glad I watched this because it put his slow, soft-talking demeanor in context. There were a lot of fun stories and it was good to know that he really was (mostly) as good of a guy as everyone said.
Erin: I first saw this movie in theaters by myself, and it involved me sobbing alongside a smattering of middle-aged women, also sobbing. Fred Rogers was a unique voice in television, and is a voice that we are desperately missing today. Watching this documentary absolutely inspires me to always look for the helpers, and to aspire to be kind.

5/8/20: The Lighthouse (2019)
Tom: I think this was my favorite movie of the cycle that I hadn't seen before. I loved that it was modeled after Greek myths and it felt like a dark Poe story. I could listen to Willem Dafoe spin yarns in an 1890s sailor dialect for years. I'm not sure how I can even describe this one in a few sentences. It was by the guy who directed The Witch. There were mermaids and Willem Dafoe farts a bunch of times. Robert Pattinson was also insane. It was ridiculous.
Erin: When I found out that The Lighthouse was a black and white movie set in the 1800’s with Willem Dafoe, I was like, um yes. I finally was able to watch this, and it did NOT disappoint. This movie weirdly felt like a throwback to movies of decades past, while still seeming like something I had never watched before. With no jump scares at all, I was frightened throughout the film, but still laughed and smiled and marveled. The cinematography is unreal in this movie. I had no idea that filming in black and white could have such nuance and beauty. Dafoe and Robert Pattinson were fully committed and it was a strange, fantastic journey.