tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post5114878389472275245..comments2024-03-27T01:52:03.857-11:00Comments on Kinemalogue: Once upon a time in HollywoodHunter Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925220178171355473noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-16264916722557005842023-02-02T08:45:39.393-11:002023-02-02T08:45:39.393-11:00The criticism of Babylon I'm most sympathetic ...The criticism of Babylon I'm most sympathetic to is that it's too childishly gross--the luncheon scene is genuinely ridiculous and dumb--but I'm a 90s person in some respects, so perhaps the very height of comedy to me is the sounds that the foley artists make whilst Jeff Daniels shits in a broken toilet on a date. I'm just not very readily disgusted, particularly by puke or poop. (I'd earnestly be more worried, given elephant diet and digestion, that getting shit on by one would cause <i>physical</i> injury, but I haven't looked into that.)<br /><br />I like Robbie though I'm increasingly feeling like her range has been accidentally limited--it's starting to feel all of her big performances are "dumb/crazy white trash lady with no manners whatsoever, thrust into an incongruous circumstance," from Harley Quinn to this back to I, Tonya. The one major exception I can think of is my favorite performance from her, the underrated and perhaps underseen caper film, Focus. But--it's a niche she's good at, and I'll be honest, if the teaser for Barbie means that it's more zany slapstick comedy than the diatribe it still threatens to be--jury's still out on Gerwig, though I loved Little Women--then I'll be even more in her corner.<br /><br />You should watch Singin' In the Rain again. For whatever reason its unshakeable status as The Best Golden Age musical annoys me, but I'm probably only annoyed because it's impossible to argue it isn't a very reasonable choice.Hunter Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10925220178171355473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-83341239370820850102023-01-31T16:25:38.392-11:002023-01-31T16:25:38.392-11:00I finally watched this today, and after sitting on...I finally watched this today, and after sitting on it for a few hours, my conclusion is that I need to sit on it for a few more hours. I will probably watch this again in the next week or two. But a couple of disorganized preliminary thoughts:<br /><br />Tremendously made on basically every level, but particularly the scene construction/editing level; very clearly an "overcorrection" to La La Land in tone (I suspect he lurks on social media and wants to be show he can "cool" and flippant, too); I really don't like the impish scatology (and other fluids) as an aesthetic, though I can sort of squint and see their thematic purpose; not sure the jazz trumpeter added anything, even thematic counterweight since his story matches everyone else's (obviously there because Chazelle must have jazz in his movies, and to, again, rewrite the narrative vis a vis La La Land on race/jazz history); I haven't seen Singing in the Rain since I was a teenager, so I obviously need to correct that before I rewatch it; at first blush the endings (before the time jump) are just a bit too sloppy and unevenly paced, but we'll see if I feel the same way when I rewatch; I have a very mild Margot Robbie aversion, and so I don't fully know how much of the resentment I felt towards her throughout the movie was on purpose as opposed to my own brain; leaning towards marking this as a "great" movie but slightly below Whiplash and La La Land, which is, in the grand scheme, not really a disappointment, but in terms of my hype, a minor one.<br /><br />Anyways, I enjoyed your take, and it definitely helped me see the movie in a more positive light, and I'll be noodling on this one for awhile longer.danhttp://thegoodsreviews.com/noreply@blogger.com