Truth be told, I didn’t watch any movies last week because I was busy being in the background of one! That’s all I can say for now, but as soon as I can share more I will. In order to make up for that oversight, I’ve stuffed as many movies as I possibly could into this last full week of October. Some spooky stuff, some not, but all pretty darn good!
The Last Duel – It’s like the Me Too movement but in medieval times! The fact that this is also a true story is pretty crazy. What struck my most about this film was how it was presented in three parts. There was the truth according to Marguerite de Carrouges’ husband, Jean de Carrouges, then the truth according to his “friend” Jacques Le Gris, and then finally the actual truth of Marguerite’s rape. Both of these men are clearly deluded about their relationship with Marguerite, and it comes as no surprise that they are actually brutes and extremely selfish. It is their selfishness, specifically Jean’s, that spawns the duel, which if Jean loses, Marguerite gets burned alive. Perhaps a bit too much rehashing in the stories, but I found this movie quite intriguing.
Dune – To preface this review, I have never read or watched any previous incarnations of this science fiction tale. That means I have nothing to compare it to, so with that I can say that this two and a half our epic was pretty meh. I do like a good sci-fi flick, and the cast was practically screaming at me to go and watch this, but it ultimately didn’t feel like much actually happened. Which is essentially true if you listen to director Denis Villeneuve’s statement that this film was an “appetizer” for the second part (which is confirmed). Well okay, that means I have to wait two more years for the “main course”…cool. And for all of that start power that was advertised, well we only really got to know Paul and his mother, because by the end of the film (SPOILER!) everyone else ends up dead! If this is your lane, then by all means ride in it. If not, it can probably wait until you can watch both films back to back.
The French Dispatch – Wes Anderson’s latest has been my most anticipated film of this year since it got pushed off the roster last year (thanks for nothing, COVID!), so needless to say I saw this as soon as I could. Right off the bat though, I can say it’s not his strongest film, but it is still a visual delight. All of Anderson’s typical oddities are in this film which meanders through different articles of an American based newspaper in France. The first lengthy section covers an incarcerated artists with a really complicated life, the next is about a woman following a group of young revolutionaries, and the last is about a kidnapping. With a movie packed with A-listers, it’s sort of hard to pick one favorite performance, although Adrian Brody seems to stick out in my mind the most. If you like any of Anderson’s prior work, I implore you to add this to your watch list!
Broadcast Signal Intrusion – What a cool concept! Back in the 80s, two broadcasts coming out of Chicago were intruded with strange clips of a (very creepily) masked figure making nonsense noises. This really happened! Now, I don’t know if it was ever investigated because it sounds like the story just died in real life. In this film however, we meet a man in the late 90s who stumbles upon these tapes. From that point on he becomes obsessed with figuring out what it all means, and when there’s rumor of a third tape, he’s certain it’s tied to the disappearance of his wife. Honestly, with a concept this freaky, I was fairly let down. The action that could have ensued sort of meandered slowly, and while I think he ended up going crazy in the end, it’s hard to know if was a reliable narrator or not. Too many plot points went unanswered, so it left me wanting for sure.
Army of Thieves – This prequel to Netflix’s Army of the Dead was something I was looking forward to as soon as I learned about it earlier this year. Ludwig Dieter was my favorite character from that film, so I was excited to spend more time with him in his own film. This story is essentially how he became associated with Hans Wagner safes, and ultimately why he was recruited for that doomed zombie mission. There were significantly less zombies this time around, and it took place overseas, but it was still a fun and unique ride! Ludwig, formally Sebastian, gets recruited from his day job at a bank (of course) to help complete the safecracking of “the Ring” of Wagner’s safes. His recruiter, Gwendoline, is in for the same reasons as Dieter, but some of her other teammates have different plans. This film wasn’t quite as engaging at it’s predecessor, but still very enjoyable.
Army of the Dead – I mean, obviously I had to watch this again right after watch Army of Thieves. It’d be foolish not to. After another viewing with some time away, this zombie action flick still holds up. Just the right amount of action, gore, and humor. One of the best of the year!