Finnair had a great movie selection for both legs of my trip. As it was a 9 hour flight, and sleeping is impossible for me due to how cramped economy seating is; it left time for at least 4 movies each way.
1. Captain Marvel – 2 out of 4 stars
It was alright. Pretty standard plot. I just wish they had gone with a more charismatic performance for the lead. I don’t know if it was just Brie Larson, whom I really like in other things. Or if that was their actual direction “Remember, Brie, we want kind of dull and occasionally sassy… ACTION!”
2. Fighting With My Family – 2 out of 4 stars
I’d been looking forward to this one. Directed by Stephen Merchant, one of my favorite comic writers/actors, and starring Florence Pugh, who is amazingly talented. Sadly the content left me feeling flat. It comes off as a WWE fluff piece that fell on Stephen Merchant because it was about “people who are English, or whatever” and he’s “English or whatever” and he and the Rock had worked together previously.
I don’t mind the idea of wrestling. It’s not my thing, but I don’t put down people who do enjoy it, provided they understand what it is (which most wrestling fans I know do). However, I find it hard to romanticize it as a “sport”, which the movie does. It’s an athletic performance, no doubt, but the rules are flexible and subservient to a pre-arranged outcome. The performers must be athletic, of course, but their primary attribute is their ability to sell the show. It’s hard to tell a sympathetic underdog story about someone who ultimately just learns to be a good actress. That’s not how the movie plays, but that’s really what’s happening.
3. Aquaman — 10 question marks
This movie is so amazingly baffling. It’s like it was written by a computer or an alien that understood the rules of narrative structure, but not the means to apply those rules. It’s like a clock with a minute hand that moves twice as fast, but an hour hand that moves half as slow. It’s technically keeping time, but in a way that is hard for human brains to fathom.
I can only surmise this movie’s assembly cut was approved sight unseen because the Chinese don’t give a shit about plot and are just watching for the bizarre visuals.
4. Stan and Ollie — 3 out of 4 stars
This is a lovely movie. And I mean that in a very sincere way. I highly recommend it, even if you don’t know anything about Laurel and Hardy. The performances are top notch.
It suffers from one flaw, and it’s a minor one. It takes place in the 1950s, but every place they visit in England looks like a college recruitment brochure. White, black, brown, and everything in between, holding hands and skipping down the street whistling a tune of harmony.
I am a fan of diversity. If you’re making a movie set now, in the future, or in a fantasy word, you should make it look as diverse as possible. But 1950s England wasn’t that diverse. The majority of the population was white (it still is, approximately 85% white). People of color may not have been as discriminated against as they were (and continue to be) in the United States, but they definitely weren’t integrated fully with white English society and holding prominent jobs.
The reason this bothers me is because it sells a version of our history that is patently false. One that ignores centuries of racism and pretends that everything has always been harmonious. You don’t need to focus on discrimination, it is, after all, a movie about two aging comedians, but you also shouldn’t shy away from maybe showing a few people of color in less than desirable jobs just to subconsciously drive the point home.
5. Green Room – 4 out of 4 stars
This starts a trend of movies I’d been meaning to see, ones which are available on multiple accessible streaming services, but never got around to.
It’s excellent, though not for sensitive viewers. In the end I was left feeling quite sad because Anton Yelchin puts in such a phenomenal performance, and now he’s dead.
6. Moonlight — 4 out of 4 stars
And here’s the second movie I had been meaning to get around to. Mahershala Ali is one of my favorite actors, but the three actors who play the lead steal the show, each of them managing to nail the exact same detached/distraught performance.
Here’s another one that’s not for everyone, but I would like everyone to see it. It’s telling a story that doesn’t get heard very often from a community that is notoriously homophobic and not too keen to portray its vulnerabilities and flaws in popular media.
7. Kona fer í stríð (Woman at War) — 3 out of 4 stars
My wife watched this one on the flight over and recommended it to me. It’s kind of hard to nail down what this movie is about. It’s one you just have to watch and see for yourself. The thing keeping me from giving it a full 4 stars is that I didn’t quite understand the ending. Maybe one day I’ll watch it again and wrap my head around it.
Re-Watches…
I also re-watched Mad Max Fury Road, which gets better with each repeat viewing. And the first half of The Life of Pi (one of my all time favorites)
Armchair Screenwriter 