Alright, I’m back, fully rejuvenated, ready to talk about the films I watched in February. I know that March is almost over. But hey, at least I’m back, right? I found this channel on Bilibili that shows really old films (I mean like a century old films old), and now I’m dying of excitement to continue working down my old film ‘Want to Watch’ list.
1. February 7th, Last Night in Soho (2021)
This is a film about a young girl from somewhere in rural England going to study fashion in London, where she begins to have dreams about another girl who acts as her muse. Things take a darker turn when she realizes that the girl she dreams about is maybe not as innocent and cutesy as she thought.
This was fun. It was an interesting experience, I would say, especially considering the fact that it was supposed to be horror. The colors were stunning: I will never not love fluorescent lights and beautiful aesthetics from a film. I liked the plot twist of the film, I thought it was well-done and at least made sense, unlike a lot of the plot twists for horror films. Overall, would recommend. Wouldn't say this is the best film I’ve ever seen, but definitely a fun time.
2. February 8th, Pearl (2022)
This? This was amazing. This was everything I could ever hope for. This? Astounding.
Pearl is the prequel to X, which is a horror film that I have yet to see. It’s about a young girl named Pearl who lives on a farm and dreams of being a star. That’s about all I can say without spoiling anything.
This film is horror, definitely. But it’s also a masterclass in building character as well as creating sympathetic antagonists. Throughout the film it is obvious that maybe Pearl doesn’t have the best of childhoods, and maybe at the same time she’s not the best person. And through the dialogues, the characterizations of the supporting characters like Pearl’s mother, you can see the full extent of both Pearl’s downfall and her cruelty. She’s not a good person, but then again, you don’t condone it but you can understand it, and that’s what makes you hope for her redemption. Even if she doesn’t get it.
Also, Mia Goth? Stunning. Her acting in this film deserved everything, and I will die on this hill. She was perfect as Pearl, and that final scene where she has a huge smile and stares into the camera for what feels like hours? Astonishing. I can’t get over it.
Go watch it. Cannot recommend this more. And, also, I want to get “I’M A STAR” tattooed somewhere on me.
3. February 10th, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2023)
This is the sequel to Marvel’s famous Black Panther, and the return of the character since Chadwick Boseman’s death (RIP. He was such a good actor.). It is now focused on the story of Black Panther, the mantel which is now taken up by the original Black Panther’s sister.
I have to be honest, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I had hoped I would. Angela Bassett, returning as the Queen Mother of Wakanda, was astonishing in her role and I would kill for her. The aesthetics of the underwater world were beautiful, although a bit lackluster if you ask me considering we all just watched Avatar 2: the Way of Water. And I appreciated this new, more morally gray Black Panther.
But the film overall was just… Poorly paced, poorly written, and felt a bit forced and rushed. I don’t know how to explain it except to say that I walked away from this film feeling like I wouldn’t have missed anything if I hadn’t seen it. So I wouldn’t recommend this. Not unless you’re a huge fan of superhero movies, in which case, it is a mediocre one. It’s not terrible, but not great.
4. February 13th, Tár (2022)
Tár. Tár. Tár. I am never getting over this film. God. This film is the best thing that’s ever happened to cinema. There, I said it.
Tár is about the titular character Lydia Tár, who is a female lesbian conductor. These aspects of her identity do not play much into the storyline overall, but as a queer woman Cate Blanchett kissing another woman was enough to guarantee my ticket. But the film is more about the dynamics of power, as we follow Tár’s downfall from being one of the greatest living conductors to being torn down and going slightly insane because of sexual harassment accusations and various other factors.
This was amazing. This film, on so many levels, was astonishing. I walked out of the theater and literally did not know what to say for such a long time, because this film provokes an avalanche of thoughts that I can’t say I was able to process within the first few minutes of watching. The film is also beautifully shot: the scenes where Lydia is conducting, where she is sitting there for her pictures, all of that. Tár’s beauty isn’t one that screams itself into existence. It doesn’t demand attention the way movies like Avatar 2 do. But it’s stunning nonetheless, in a quiet way, and I think I might have fallen in love, just a little, with the way this film looks.
I’m so mad at the Academy Awards, by the way, for giving Tár nothing. That is not what it deserved. I can say that now, because I'm writing this in March. But February me walked out of the theater truly believing that the Academy would give Tár everything. Boy was I wrong.
Also, this film is so nuanced. Just the other day, I realized that the reason why Tár hates it when other people click their pens or bounce their knees is not just because it is annoying, but actually because they are keeping time. And time, as she says, is her thing. That is what Tár does to you. It leaves you with hints of the person that Tár was, and asks you to figure it out yourself.
I could go on. I could go on about the way Lydia addresses herself as ‘Petra’s father’, the way that Cate Blanchett is beyond mesmerizing in this film, the way that the film demands questions and thoughts but almost on purpose does not provide any definite answers, the way all of the actors, Nina Hoss especially, give their all regardless of the size of their roles. This film is a masterpiece. Todd Field, you’re a genius.
Everyone needs to watch this film. I don’t care if you don’t like classical music. This is a film for everyone. And please, if you can, watch it in the theaters. The experience is completely different and one hundred percent worth it. Trust me. The music is phenomenal at the theater.
5. February 19th, Death Becomes Her (1992)
This is the camp film of the month. Spoiler, I love camp films. But anyway, this is a film revolving around two fake friends who fight over a man and find the key to immortality and then proceed to attempt to kill one another. It sounds relatively ‘pick me’ now that I’m writing it, but it’s actually really funny and a lot of fun to watch, especially because you have Meryl Streep in one of the roles. Watching Meryl Streep be a vapid, shallow, and generally terrible person is something I never knew I needed but hey, here we are.
Actually, that might be a lie. I love it when she’s mean. (Cough, The Devil Wears Prada, cough.) And actually, this film’s Madeline (Meryl Streep’s character) honestly feels like a younger, meaner, stupider Miranda Priestly. They’re both a pale blond (even though Miranda’s is more like a white but I don’t care) and their names both start with M. As a Miranda Priestly fan girl, I spent the entire movie watching Madeline as Miranda Priestly and it was divine.
The film itself is just a lot of fun, honestly. It’s got some deeper themes to it (the fear of losing beauty, the shallowness of a lot of Hollywood as well as the general fear of aging that women are conditioned into through arbitrary beauty standards that consumerism pushes forward), and it’s got some amazing performances by all of the cast members (I didn’t even realize Bruce Willis was in this film until the end credits but I could also just be lesbian and too focused on women). It’s also got some pretty good special effects for a film from the 90s, and I just in general, loved this. This was just so much fun, and we really need to bring back the campy movies of the 90s. They just don’t make them like this anymore. Highly recommend.
6. February 21st, The Menu (2022)
This is a movie about a murderous chief and a group of VIPs who are invited to this highly exclusive restaurant and then find their demise. It’s a great movie if you love food, Ralph Fiennes, and/or Anya Taylor-Joy.
I will be honest, the most that I took away from this is that Hong Chau is amazing in everything she does (even as a psychotic maître d'hôtel), and that food is really an art. I have a growing appreciation for both food and fashion as art forms, and this movie really propelled my appreciation for the art that goes behind what we eat. But I do love the idea that the restaurant is a cult. Almost like a lot of the things that we do can become cult-like if we’re not careful in our appreciation and admiration for a person. Also, the whole ‘server’ vs. ‘served’ idea. That was cool.
7. February 22nd, Häxan (1922)
Häxan is a documentary about witches and black magic. The film is acted out by actors and contains scenes with simply just pointers and words (it’s a silent film). I liked this film. I think it was interesting, and certainly worth a watch, even if only to better understand the persecution of witches (I love witches. The witch trials, not so much. Witches, though, love them.) and because the actors are phenomenal.
I honestly don’t have much to say about this film. It doesn’t have a full narrative, more of a stream of consciousness yet chronological showcase of witches throughout the ages and the stories of the women that are tied to witchcraft. It was an interesting watch, and I loved the way that sex and nudity was so blatant in this film from the 1920s. That was refreshing.
Also, I want to be a witch.
8. February 24th, Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Marvel’s newest attempt at bringing nuance to the superhero genre. It was fine. It was about the story of Antman and the Wasp and they went into the Quantum realm only to find that there was a big boss there and they needed to destroy him except that this big boss’s death might also have repercussions on the rest of the world.
I’ll be honest, I only watched this because of Michelle Pfeiffer, and I was really happy to see how much screen time she got. At the same time, though, and I’m not really at liberty to say this because I haven’t seen the other Antman films so maybe this is actually just the hero’s character, but he was feeling suspiciously like Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. Don’t murder me if Antman came first, but it just felt boring and repetitive to me.
Once again, superhero films have disappointed me. When will we go back to having heroes the caliber of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman from Batman Returns (1991)?
And that’s it. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk, and I realize that this is coming closer to the end of March than the end of February. Thanks for sticking with me.
Happy Thursday!!
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