Month of Movies: March 2018

Total Films Watched: 7. Spaceballs, Black Panther, The Giant Gila Monster, When We First Met, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Adaptation, The Bad Batch.

Top Two Films: Black Panther and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Of course Black Panther is my favorite movie of the month. I spent so much time in the last entry gushing over Creed and Ryan Coogler's directorial promise. This movie delivers on much of that promise while also working pretty well as a blockbuster superhero film. The overlap between the two movies is limited but effective. The one-on-one fight scenes are very well-choreographed, the Kendrick Lamar songs are dropped in at perfect times, and Michael B. Jordan gives a fantastic performance. Of the two, I still think Creed is the better film overall. There's some very predictable elements to Black Panther, especially towards the end.

I would not call A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night very predictable except in the broadest sense. Ana Lily Amirpour's debut hit smashes together a ton of disparate elements to create a fascinating world of her own. Parts of it feel indebted to David Lynch, especially the nostalgia for 1950's cool that the male lead embodies and the final scene. Parts of it feel very Iranian and foreign, although she's a British-born filmmaker and it was shot in California. There's also a musicality and style to the film- the scene where they play a White Lies song is memorable in it's simplicity and hypnotic slowness. Also, there's a skateboarding vampire in a traditional Muslim headdress (which is an outstanding performance, by the way).

Movie Death Match: Meta movies I re-watched for my podcast- Spaceballs or Adaptation? Both of these movies were high on the list of titles we were considering for the show. Mel Brooks is an obvious choice for a discussion about meta comedies and Spaceballs has the added bonus of parodying a beloved blockbuster. Adaptation, meanwhile, is a twisting Oscar-winner with so many layers of references and self-awareness that it's legitimately hard to discuss without confusing yourself.

Adaptation is easily my favorite of the two. Charlie Kaufman is a fascinating figure, both as the writer of the film and the main character. Like most directors that write a lot of auto-biographical scripts, Kaufman seems to really hate himself and want to work out his issues on screen. That complex self-loathing makes the film difficult to totally love- there are moments of painful awkwardness and sexism that are just a little too off-putting.

Nicolas Cage captures that manic-depressive energy in a grounded performance, while also being wonderfully ridiculous as Kaufman's fictional twin. Meryl Streep plays Susan Orlean in a traditional, buttoned-down way for two-thirds of the film, when she gets to show off her chops a little more. Of the main creative forces, Spike Jonze seems to have the least to do. And when he gets the chance to show off as a director, it's a little hit-or-miss in the stylized sections.

I don't love Spaceballs. Then again, I don't have a complete love for any of the Mel Brooks comedies I've seen. I know that's a slanderous thing to say about one of the most acclaimed comedic directors of the late 20th century. I laughed at all of his movies that I've seen; I now appreciate Gene Wilder as a brilliant comedic actor and the main setpieces of Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein are brilliantly inventive. But Brooks is also indebted to the old Borscht-Belt style of humor. And there's not reason for a millennial for ever think about the Borscht Belt or understand why that version of comedy was such a smash hit.

Spaceballs is definitely the weakest of his films, although there are still some great performances and ideas throughout. Rick Moranis captures both the ridiculousness and occasional threat of Dark Helmet, George Wyner plays the evil colonel as a great straight man, and the buddy dynamic between Bill Pullman and John Candy is fun. The meta elements of the film are another highlight, which made it a good choice for the podcast. Watching the movie in the movie is the obvious standout, but I also love the bizarreness of the Alien cameo and the stunt double joke. Outside the meta jokes, though, is a lot of very hacky humor. 'Yogurt' and 'Barf' are not funny names, especially not when compared to Franken-shteeen. And that's only the easiest example- there's also a ton of dick jokes and obvious gags delivered with varying levels of skill. Not a movie I regret revisiting but also one that's near the bottom of my list for the month.