Drama – Page 10 – Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare

“Challengers”

By Brett_G on May 7, 2024May 5, 2024

7.6

The tennis threesome movie… love triangle movie? A bit of both. Similar to “Snack Shack,” they let love get in the way of their craft. (Although, cards on the table, I liked “Snack Shack” way more.)

This one is far from a fairy tale love story, and includes some of the most creative camera work since “Madame Web.” It was more than I expected in some ways and less in others. More of a mixed bag than I anticipated. As expected, the three leads really knock is out of the court with their respective performances, and the tension is at an 11 the entire runtime. It was really a masterclass in holding your foot to the floor in a genre that isn’t notorious for that kind of narrative structure.

“La Chimera”

By Brett_G on April 22, 2024

6.1

So… a grave robber love story? Kind of wrapped in a comedy of sorts. A very odd mix at every turn.

Some beautiful shots and an interesting premise to take a crack at it. Just really hard to get over the strange factor and get into the possible horror of being connected to the land of the dead through their former belongings.

Comedy Drama

“Wicked Little Letters”

By Brett_G on April 9, 2024April 8, 2024

6.9

Get ready to say “oh, you fucking wanker!” A LOT. The misogyny is strong with this one. Not that it doesn’t shine a light on how far we’ve come as a society and isn’t period accurate… and it does show how dumb it is to put “woman” in a job title… but still. It was CRINGE.

Jessie Buckley and Anjana Vasan’s chemistry really makes this one tick. It was incredibly fun to watch their relationship evolve as the film went on, and to see just how far the shenanigans would go before the credits rolled. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but a great time at the cinema, swearing like a sailor.

Drama Indie

“Perfect Days”

By Brett_G on March 30, 2024March 30, 2024

7.4

I never thought I could feel so comforted by a film… Watching this man clean public toilets, read paperback novels, and take pictures of trees was the most calming presence imaginable for two hours. An incredibly powerful portrayal of the beauty of simplicity and the calm found in routine. This is a tough one to put into words. I found the initial explanation of Komorebi to be the best, tying everything together as “soothing sunlight through trees.” This was soothing light on a screen.

Komorebi (木漏れ日): Sunshine filtering through the trees.

Documentary Drama

“Bob Marley: One Love”

By Brett_G on March 28, 2024March 23, 2024

6.1

The music’s great… The film? Not so much. It fell into the trap of the biopic overseen by the subject’s family. A middle of the road, safe, uninteresting tale that doesn’t portray the messiness that makes the subject interesting in the first place. And for some odd reason, the story skips huge chunks of Marley’s life and skips back and forth on the timeline like a Christopher Nolan film, but without the narrative clarity. Without a lot of Bob Marley background knowledge, it left me feeling like I barely knew anything more by the time the credits rolled, which left me feeling like a great deal of wasted potential was left on the cutting room floor on this one.