I was pretty confidant that Jordan Peele's most recent horror film Us (2019) would be available on a recent flight-and it was. Like Out, it has a novel concept, great performances, set design, and impressive cinematography. However, I felt that there were many more plot holes this time around. But still an entertaining film overall.
I was happy to have the chance to see Sydney Pollack's posthumous Aretha Franklin concert film, Amazing Grace (2018). Amazing Grace film was not released on schedule in 1972 due to difficulties syncing the audio tracks with the visual print and was stored in a vault at Warner Brothers until 2007 when producer Alan Elliott purchased the raw footage and attempted to sync it. The pared-down footage, now 87 minutes in length, was planned for a 2011 release. It seems Franklin sued him, but her family agreed to let the film be released after her death in 2018. The lady can belt it out-and this performance is from her prime.
Mike Leigh's latest historical epic Peterloo (2018) was one of the highly anticipated films from Cannes, but was met with mixed reviews. It is essentially the story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre where British forces attacked a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Manchester.The film is notable for realistic costumes, setting, and has some wonderful performances and even the non speaking actors looked great in their period costumes. However, this film is very "speech-y", and very long. There were some very obvious exposition scenes that were out in to explain some outdated or lesser-known legal terms. I think that Leigh could have trimmed at least 40 minutes from the 2 hour 34 minute running time by entertaining some of the political speeches.
Schumann's Bar Talks (2017), directed by Marieke Schroder, follows world-renowned bartender and author of American Bar: The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, Charles Schumann, on his quest to visit the world's best bars in New York, Havana and Tokyo. It seems somewhat aggrandizing-but he does seem to have been a pioneer of what is now known as the craft cocktail bar scene. However, I think the documentary is best when he talks to historians about the history of bar culture and the invention of the cocktail itself. I also enjoyed his visits to bars in Germany, New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Havana. I have been to one of the bars he visited in Tokyo-Bar Ben Fiddich and The Floridan, birthplace of the Hemingway daiquiri, in Havana.
Gan Bi's latest film Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018) was another well-received festival favorite that I was highly anticipating since I really enjoyed his previous effort Kaili Blues. Once again I think Gan Bi's cinematography may be among the best in the world these days. Especially notable is the stunning last 59 minutes of the film which is one unbroken long take shot. But the framing and other filming choices come across as inventive and intriguing. However, the story felt something like Wong Kar-wai lite in that it was supposed to be profound and romantic. But somehow felt shallow and derivative to me and maybe it's because I'm such a huge Wan Kar-wai fan. That being said I still found the film compelling to watch and I think Gab Bi is one to watch in the future.
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