What I watched in May
Alright. May is over. This was a hell of a great month. So much has happened. I moved in to a new apartment, right in the heart of the city, and that put me on airs about the amount of movies I was actually able to watch. It was almost none in comparison to other months, but still, a good amount.
I kicked off the month in what felt like ages ago by keeping a promise to a friend and delivering, watching Spider Man No Way Home for the first time, and gotta say, great experience. I cried and laughed and reacted appropriately to the appearance of my childhood and adolescence Spideys and villains, joining forces with the new one. It was a fun experience, barely a movie, there’s not much to say anymore. Willem Dafoe.
Then I wrote a review for a film my best friend and I would go watch on May 1st, but instead we stayed out all night talking about some serious stuff, and I wrote the review of our conversation as if it was the movie. You can read it in my Letterboxd. That one does not count.
Then I watched the new Fantastic Beasts movie with another friend, and found it enjoyable and better than the previous ones. At some point I realized that this was actually the first Harry Potter related film I watched in the theater in my entire life. Plus, Eddie Redmaine’s autistic character made me cry by the end of the film. He is just too good to this film.
Then I rewatched one of my top five favorites, Woody Allen’s Match Point and boy boy boy, what can I say? Script is tight. Every set is stunning. The London cast is phenomenal. Johnathan Rhys Meyers will forever be my teen boy crush. Scarlet is always a win. It feels odd to me that my favorite Woody Allen film does not take place in New York. What you gonna do?
Then I watched Lazaro Ramos’ Executive Order, one of the most important Brazilian films of recent years. This is very powerful. It’s not a great movie like our best “City of God” or “Bacurau”, and it still doesn’t reach the level of the most recent “Marighella”, and it won’t be remembered as an epitome of national cinema, but it will never be forgotten for the explicit and subtly visual that carries. The premise is a dystopia to the limit, and yet, almost every scene seems to vehemently document our current society, the class struggle, the structural racism that so many think doesn’t exist in this country. And Lázaro Ramos knows how to film this with his own language. However, the film manages to become drawn out in the second act and seem much longer than its 100-odd minutes should be. It is a dilemma visibly the result of a story too absurd to think about an outcome, especially since the message of resistance needs to be stamped and carried with the strength of a giant. To say that the message hurts the story would be sacrilege, but it is this potent message that hurts the premise. The film doesn’t really have the chance to embrace its dystopian sci-fi premise because it needs at all times to show how dystopia is not so different from reality, and when making historical mention of the forty years of the struggle of black movements in Brazil, it fulfills its role of speech and action. Tais Araújo is always a win and steals the show in at least two great moments. The direction and especially the editing make questionable or even contradictory choices, but without taking away the merit that this film must in fact have. It is a vibrant joy that it is being seen by so many thousands across the country as it is a version of the message that is simpler to discern by its parity. It will not be forgotten.
Then Mother’s Day arrived and my mom and I watched a great father son story. O Filho Eterno is simple and yet punching. Debora Falabella is always a win. I cried a little in the end. Rodrigo Teixeira is a legend.
Then Thalles and I watched the new Doctor Strange in theater on a Wednesday night we pretend was a Thursday primetime, and even had some snacks for a the first time ever. I loved the scene when Doc Oc pursues Ant America May to the top of a building in New York City and the sorcerers throw a golden spider web in it. Raimi is the best director for Spider Man, period. And this one is definitely one of his films. Every tilt paid back the $13 ticket. Olsen is the best in it. This movie truly exists. Excited to watch Everything Everywhere All at Once (which could be another studio name for Marvel, since that’s how they dominate screening rooms).
Then I moved to my new place and another week would go by before I could sit down with a movie again, and I chose The Darjeeling Limited. I know I’m a Wes fanboy, but just had never watched this for some reason. I loved every minute of it. Truly. So heartbreaking and devastating and yet hopeful and liberating. It’s definitely a white man filming India, and it can be quirky in the wrong direction sometimes, but nonetheless gorgeous. The precision was already there. Every shot is a piece of art. Bill Murray cameo any day. The three kids in the river scene is still constantly in my mind.
Then I went to the movies alone to watch a special screening of To The Ends of The Earth, and this movie made everything right. It’s a beautiful war epic by a war between France and Indonesia I did not even know have happened. And yes, it is French, and that’s a good change of pace for war movies that are just too American. Some shots here and there are masterful, and the relationship between these characters is intense and vulnerable to the brink. I had a big problem with the way the movie handled a big reveal, but other than that, which is supposedly based in real life, everything else is great. Gaspard is brilliant in it. Gerard Depardieu is always a win. Guillaume Gouix has been a crush ever since.
And then I had no time to watch another movie. But I did found a way to watch Ted Lasso, which is just incredible and I can’t wait for season three. I also watched the first episode of Scenes from a Marriage and will talk about it later, for now, I’m just too overwhelmed by it.
In the meantime I’ve watched a bunch of SNL clips and the departure of three of my favorite cast members in the season finale a couple weeks ago. I’ve also watched a bunch of political comedy shows like Greg News, Last Week Tonight and Stephen Colbert’s old clips.
Let’s see what’s in store for the next month.
