for reels: April 2021
A monthly look back at my movie diary on Letterboxd.
Welcome to for reels, a monthly look back at my movie diary on Letterboxd // Today, I’m looking back at April 2021 //
Gee, strange times eh folks? Since I got my second shot of the vax I’ve started going out a little more and doin’ some more stuff here and there (including going to a movie theater for the first time in over a year whoa), and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s starting to feel their rewired pandemy brain coming up against the old/new realities of pre/post-pandemy life (not that we’re all out of the woods yet here, eesh).
Anyway, the Oscars were a couple weeks ago, and well, don’t want to beat a dead horse but damn. Like I tip my hat to Steven Soderbergh and crew for doing what they could and infusing the thing some chill vibes wherever possible (thought the Union Station setting and intimate size of the room were genuinely pretty dope) but yeah, Hollywood’s in a rough spot man, smh.
For years now I’ve watched the Oscars with what I thought was a pretty keen awareness of what they really are — partially to be a witness to the slowly sinking ship but also because they always have an outsized influence on what the broader movie-watching populous sees and I’m always kind of hoping the actually good movies that make it through the cracks come out the other side with as much validation as possible.
But now that all the old channels of traditional corporate media feel like beyond irrelevant, I’m finally asking myself why even bother. Also maybe y’all knew this already but I like just learned from this awesome piece by Mike Vanderbilt for Grumpire, that MGM founder Louis B. Mayer literally invented the Oscars to squash labor unions.
Mayer saw the writing on the wall when studio construction unions began forming in Hollywood at the end of the ‘20s. The mogul became fearful that it wouldn’t be long before directors, actors, writers, and other creative types would begin to unionize in Tinseltown. To jump in front of this, Mayer and his cronies formed the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with the intent that the organization could mediate labor disputes without unions. Members of the Hollywood elite including Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford signed up, and in a move to cater to movie star egos, the first Academy Awards ceremony took place in 1929 seeking to legitimize the organization and showcase (re: kiss the ass of) Hollywood’s talent. “I found that the best way to handle [filmmakers] was to hang medals all over them,” Mayer cynically explained. “If I got them cups and awards, they’d kill themselves to produce what I wanted. That’s why the Academy Award was created.”
If that don’t sum up the history of Hollywood I don’t know what does. But hey, artists continue to squeeze some art through all the exploitation, and magical movies are still made both in and outside of the system. Here’s to more cinema, less abuse, and less shiny statue-placation moving forward.
Speaking of cinema, one dope thing I did this year was go back and forth between the Oscars and the YouTube stream of my man Joel Haver (director of Pretend That You Love Me) shooting a whole movie with his followers during the Oscars. Had no idea how it would turn out but it definitely felt like witnessing the slow death of one thing and the explosive entry of something else entirely. You can watch Haver’s finished product, A Simple Smash and Bash Job, here. More akin to his weekly comedy shorts than his “serious” films, it’s a funny, lovely, infectious, anarchic experiment. Joel Haver is a madman, bless his ass.
Longer intro than usual today so let’s get on with the shoutouts for 10ish notable joints from my April movie diary.
Best New Movie: Bad Trip (2021)
Maybe I’m just a sucker for the “inflict a movie plot on innocent bystanders” genre but I loved this one! A much more wholesome vibe than, say, Borat and a great showcase for the Eric Andre project. Fire this shit up on Netflix if you’re in the mood to wheeze-laugh for 90 minutes.
Best New-to-Me Movie: Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Love early Arnold and pretty fond of John Milius-adjacent stuff, but for some reason I never gravitated to this one until now. Figured it’d be a solid ride but it definitely surpassed my expectations as far as gorgeously rendered pop-mythology and fuckin’ rad sword ‘n sandle shit’s concerned. Also tagged it in my brain files as yet another non-Superhero inspiration for Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Most Pleasant Surprise: Mortal Kombat (2021)
Pretty goddamn fun! The opening fucking rips, and there’s some genuinely sick shit throughout. Don’t have much of a relationship with the Mortal Kombat property beyond vague memories of playing the game as a kid and watching the ‘90s movies on cable, so I was probably the perfect audience for this, all things considered. Seein’ a lot of y’all be like “hey they didn’t actually have a tournament and no one yelled ‘MORTAL KOMBAT!’” Meanwhile I’m over here like “whoa them ice powers are pretty cool!” Point being my expectations were low-ish and then surpassed in a way I wouldn’t have even thought possible, so I’m callin’ this one a win.
Theater Hit: Nobody (2021)
“Give me the goddamn kitty cat bracelet, motherfucker!”
Great one to go back to theaters with. Was a small afternoon crowd but the buzz was still there, had a great time. Wasn’t sure the “Bob Odenkirk as unconventional action hero” would totally work, which was dumb of me. Never bet against Bob Odenkirk. He both figuratively and literally kicks major ass in this, and director Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry) crafts a fun, funny r-rated action romp that feels idiosyncratic and streamlined at the same time.
Rewarding Rewatches: Layer Cake (2004), Midnight Run (1988), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Had three uniquely rewarding rewatches this month, so I thought I’d include all of them. First was Layer Cake, the movie that propelled Daniel Craig to consideration for and ultimately helped win him the James Bond role. Gotta say this was a lot better than I had remembered. A melancholy, futilistic British gangster film with its own strong sense of style, mood, and narrative logic. Some grounded but also dope early manifestations of director Matthew Vaughn’s (X-Men: First Class, Kingsman) particular brand of comic-book freneticism.
Also watched the buddy-action comedy classic Midnight Run for the first time in at least a decade. It’s at least 30 minutes too long, but I’ll be damned if this ain’t legit one of Robert De Niro’s best. No phoning it in here, he’s doing some serious acting and also being funny as shit. Made me full-on cry in this scene…
…and also made me laugh to beat all hell at “two words: shut the fuck up!"
Lastly, I was pretty impressed with the singularity of The Dark Knight Rises this time around. Really interesting, sorta reactionary Obama-era neo-gothic horror drawn from America’s economic and social anxieties post-Occupy/pre-MAGA. Such a different vibe than the other two Nolan bat-joints. It barely even registers as a Batman movie to me tbh. Maybe that makes it my default fave of the trilogy? Kinda like how I dig The Phantom Menace most of the Star Wars prequels because it feels like its own weird thing.
Also, I totally forgot how great Anne Hathaway is in this. Dear Miss Kyle, please rob my house and kick my ass.
Least Rewarding Rewatch: Pretty Woman (1990)
^put that picture in here because it reminds me of that Biden meme where Dr. Jill’s finger is in his mouth hahahah. Anyway, first time watching this all the way through as an adult, and gawd, what a fucking bizarre cultural document. A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love. That’s the actual plot description on IMDB lol. Remember when this used to be on cable on a loop? Watching now, I get why it became a phenomenon by the sheer force of Julia Roberts’ inescapable magnetism (never been a huge fan of hers, but I’m also not an idiot and I lived through the ‘90s so I get it) but literally everything else about it is quite repulsive. Idk man, I might not do this category anymore cuz I like to spend time talking about shit I like rather than shitting on stuff I don’t like, but this was certainly a fascinating vibe check with the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the takeaway being “hmm, what kind of Clinton-era lizard person fantasy is this??”
Best Retro Regional Cinema: Shot (1973)
Boutique physical media companies like Vinegar Syndrome are every bit as if not more important than institutions like Criterion (no shade, love Criterion obviously) in terms of preserving a more inclusive cinema history and keeping the art of the disc alive. I’ve made several blind purchases from Vinegar Syndrome now and every one of them has been a winner. One of my more recent buys was Shot, a 1973 student film version of early-70s hard-boiled cop shit. Great low-budget regional filmmaking à la John Waters, albeit with different obsessions at play. Always a thrill to watch inspired homegrown guerilla stuff like this.
Superior Sequel: Amityville II: The Possession (1982)
I like the first Amityville Horror just fine, not one of my faves but pretty decent, if not bogged down by a distracting amount of unintentional humor. Was stoked to catch Amityville II on Shudder and find it’s a superior and worthwhile sequel by any estimation. Kinda drags in the third act but other than that pretty excellent all around. Reminded me a lot of Hereditary in the sense that the supernatural terror feels pointedly downstream from the realistic family trauma. But the supernatural parts also suh-LAP. Those Italians man, they sure know how to do horror.
Not Superior but Still Very Good Sequel: 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)
Been meaning to satisfy my curiosity and check this one out for ages, turned out to be a not only adequate but pretty fire space movie. Director Peter Hyams applies the “foreboding space western” vibe of his previous sci-fi joint Outland to Kubrick’s and 2001 author Arthur C. Clarke’s operatic “final frontier” mindfuckery, and it totally works. Kinda crazy that we live in a world where not one, but two good Kubrick sequels exist (highly recommend the director’s cut of Doctor Sleep btw). Yet both this and Doctor Sleep are under-seen and definitely undervalued. They both work because they kind of take an epiloguey, like, “inverted” approach to the material. Both end on an appropriately upbeat but still sorta ominous note, and they both in their own way magnify the sense of childlike wonder hiding behind Kubrick’s sardonic eye.
Trashterpiece of the Month: The Counselor (2013)
Saw this one in theaters when it came out and like most other people who saw it I was absolutely flabbergasted at the time. So much talent diving head first into something so incredibly whackadoodle, kind of love it now tbh. I also love that Ridley Scott was basically like “fuck y’all this thing should’ve been a hit” a few years ago lol. Upon rewatch I’m still not sure if it’s a trashterpiece in the realm of Showgirls or The Room, but it certainly swims around in those waters. If anything you just gotta see what all these a-list actors do in this thing to believe it (especially Javier Bardem and Cameron Diaz, mad props to both of them for fuckin’ goin’ for it). Sometimes you just gotta watch something that makes you feel a little more insane the moment it scratches your eyeballs. Or maybe that’s just me.
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