Sick of Myself 

Watch Time: 97 minutes

I wanted to watch Forgotten Love, which had been highly recommended by my Myrtle Beach buddies. But I wanted to watch that one with K, and she was not available. So, I flicked through Prime’s recommendations and found Sick of Myself, a 2022 Norwegian film written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli and starring Kristine Kajuth Thorp and Erik Saether.

It began as a typical Scandinavian domestic drama, but quickly turned into something that I would have criticized as absurd and implausible… except the acting and the direction were so good, I couldn’t pull myself away from it.

Sick of Myself is hard to classify. I’d say it’s 50% black comedy, 25% political satire, and 25% horror. It’s odd. It’s not for everyone. But it’s very good.

Interesting 

Borgli said that living in Los Angeles while writing the script is what most heavily influenced the film’s characters and plot: “The influence from the environment around me here really did something to the story and to the character. The personal traits of her being hugely ambitious, opportunistic, and maybe even a little bit of a narcissist were things I bumped into more frequently here than I did in Norway.”

Critical Reception 

* “Kristoffer Borgli is unduly proud of himself for concocting his unlikable protagonists, and he marinates in their repulsive self-absorption.” (Slant Magazine)

* “Putting aside the film’s obnoxious social critique… there is something compelling about its particular brand of cynicism.” (New York Times)

* “It’s not subtle, but a committed performance from Thorp and some uncomfortable truths about the nature of self-promotion [make] this a thought-provoking satire.” (Empire Magazine)

You can watch the trailer here.

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The 10 Greatest Opening Scenes in Movie History

Spend a half-hour with these clips. It will make you richer. Then, if you want to, rank them yourself by whatever criteria matters to you.

My main criterion is emotional engagement. On that score, I rank the greatness of these opening scenes almost in the reverse order of Far Out Magazine’s… although I’d probably put The Godfather at #1. Click here.

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For Your Possible Enjoyment 

Call Me Chihiro 
Directed by Rikiya Imaizumi
Initial release (Japan) Feb. 23, 2023

I usually recommend to you only “A” films – those that I would score at the top of my personal grading scale. But on Oct. 13, realizing that there’s not much difference between a B+ on my scale and an A- on someone else’s, I presented three “B” Netflix offerings that you may like a little better than I did. Call Me Chihiro is another one like that.

The Plot: A former prostitute, Chihiro, is rebuilding her life in a small seaside town. She now works in a bento shop, where she imperceptibly changes the lives of her new customers.

My Rating: Because Kasumi Arimura, who plays the lead, is utterly irresistible, I give it a B+.

You can watch the trailer here.

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Born in Gaza

A documentary filmed shortly after the 2014 Israeli-Hamas war

Directed by Hernan Zin

Originally released Dec. 12, 2014 (Spain)

Available on Netflix

Born in Gaza appeared as a Netflix recommendation shortly after Hamas started the current conflict. In what I think was a brilliant decision, the director, Hernan Zin (and perhaps others), decided to focus on 10 Palestinian children that had survived the war, but not without being witness to the death of friends and family members.

As these children go about their quotidian lives, they recount their recollections of the war and its deadly consequences. Understandably, they present Israel as the aggressor and the villain. But, eerily and importantly, they don’t convey any overt anger or hostility (the way you’d think they might had they been coached). They are clearly affected deeply by their experience, but their thoughts and emotions are not articulated.

As you might expect, there have been lots of recent internet postings about this film that try to label it as pro-Palestinian propaganda. It is unjustified criticism. Born in Gaza did not change my thoughts about Hamas and its role in the current war. What it did do, and very effectively, was leave me with a heightened sense of compassion and despair. The film says: “This is what they mean by war is hell.” But it doesn’t pretend to tell the viewer what to do about it.

You can watch the trailer here.

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He’s Back!

If you’ve seen any of the films he’s been featured in – especially Free Solo, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary – I don’t have to tell you that he’s an amazing athlete, an astonishingly high-level technician, and irresistibly likable on screen.

Free Solo (2018) was undeniably a great movie. (I mentioned it in my review of The Alpinist, a documentary about his fellow rock climber Marc-André LeClerc.) And I felt it deserved the Oscar and all of the other many awards it won. But, frankly, I found it stressful to watch him climbing up a sheer cliff, hundreds or even thousands of feet in the sky, barely holding on by his toes and fingertips, knowing that a single slip could result in death.

I thought that was the last I would see of Honnold. But I came across several filmed climbs he’s done since then, including HURT (an acronym for Honnold’s Ultimate Red Rock Traverse), a 35-minute record of him knocking off 35 miles of rugged desert terrain, 23,000 feet of climbing, and 20 named summits. Click here.

And here are trailers for some of his other movies:

* Free Solo

* Reel Rock

* Explorer: The Last Tepui

* Valley Uprising

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For Your Possible Enjoyment:

Three B and B+ Netflix Mini-Series 

My tolerance for junk-food movies and TV dramas has ebbed over the years. These days, if it feels junky at the 5- or 10-minute mark, I shut it off.

When I see things that are especially good, I recommend them to you. But when they are a bit less than that – Bs or even B+s – I don’t.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t good. Bs and B+s are, by definition, good. But are they good enough to recommend? Thinking about this yesterday, I had to concede that the difference between a B on my scale and an A- on another’s may be very small. So here are three mini-series that I’ve watched and liked in the last six months that you may like even better.

Lunatics 

Season 1, 10 episodes

Episode 1 premiered April 19, 2019

The Plot: Chris Lilley stars – as six characters – in this mockumentary series that he also created and wrote. It explores the lives of six extraordinary individuals who may not be what they seem. The subjects are observed over a period of months through documentary-style interviews and a combination of self-recorded and fly-on-the-wall footage. While they are eccentric and odd, they are also scarily recognizable.

My Rating: B+

My Comment: Chris Lilley was new to me. He’s a very smart comedic writer and an engaging, likeable actor.

You can watch the trailer here.

God’s Favorite Idiot 

Season 1, 8 episodes

Episode 1 premiered June 15, 2022

The Plot: Mid-level tech-support employee Clark Thompson falls in love with co-worker Amily Luck at exactly the same time as he becomes the unwitting messenger of God, filling his world with roller skating, a lake of fire, and an impending apocalypse.

My Rating: B-

My Comment: Like Lunatics, an ensemble comedy series with likeable characters. And like Lunatics, it’s funny, but not wickedly funny.

You can watch the trailer here.

 

The Girl from Nowhere 

Season 1, 13 episodes

Episode 1 premiered Oct. 31, 2018

Season 2, 8 episodes

Episode 1 premiered May 7, 2021

The Plot: Nanno is a mysterious and clever girl who should be avoided. She transfers to different schools, and when she lands at a new one, she exposes the lies and misdeeds of the students and faculty. The girls Nanno encounters often want to try to destroy her, but she always has the upper hand. When a student with a girlfriend gets mistakenly linked to Nanno, he becomes a social media sensation. After the truth about Nanno’s high school life is revealed, she makes sure there are no happy endings.

My Rating: B+

My Comment: I was torn between a B and a B+. I went with the B+ because of how interesting the idea of the plot is. This is essentially a high-school mean-girl story. But different from the way it is treated in the US, where the revenge is having the cute guy fall in love with the heroine, The Girl from Nowhere is about a girl who avenges her high-school tormentors 10 years after graduation.

You can watch the Season 1 trailer here.

You can watch the Season 2 trailer here.

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6ixtynin9 

A six-part series from Thailand, recently released on Netflix

Original release date (New York) May 20, 2005

6ixtynin9 is essentially a crime drama, but it’s much more than that. It’s breathless. It’s fascinating. It’s sometimes funny, then melancholy, then sad. And it’s beautifully made.

Perhaps what surprised me most about this six-part series is that it was scripted and produced in Thailand. Almost 20 years ago!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. In some respects, it reminds me of Pulp Fiction. In others, a Mel Brooks movie.

If you are open to something new that will keep you entertained and thinking about all sorts of things you’ve never thought about before, check out 6ixtynin9.

Minor Caveat: It’s helpful if you have some familiarity with Thailand and Thai culture.

You can watch the trailer here.

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The Deer Hunter 

Directed and co-written by Michael Cimino

Starring Robert DeNiro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken

Originally released (in LA) Dec. 8, 1978

I hadn’t watched The Deer Hunter since it first came out – almost 35 years ago. I remembered it as a very good movie. But I also remembered that it was a harrowing, almost traumatizing, experience. What I forgot was how long it is: three hours.

Though categorized as an “epic war drama,” The Deer Hunter isn’t very much about Vietnam. It’s about two things that it well and deeply explored: The range of masculine strength and weaknesses. And the depth and tenacity of male friendship.

What I Liked About It 

* The acting – by both the principal and secondary actors.

* The depiction of a mining town in Pennsylvania back then. I knew that part of Pennsylvania a bit, and it looked very right.

* The depiction of how we (draft-age men) spoke and interacted. Every stunt and conversation was very true to my life back then.

* The depiction of PTSD. The event that caused it in the movie was, as far as I can tell, invented. But the trauma displayed by the men coming back from the war was real.

* The photography. It was almost crude. But beautiful.

* The pace. Very slow. A full hour on a wedding! But it created a feeling for how life was in such towns that, again, felt very real to me.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

* The portrayal of Vietnam and the Vietnamese was superficial, almost racist.

* The battle scenes were not particularly interesting.

* The performance of Meryl Streep. This was a very early role for her. I didn’t think she pulled it off. I didn’t know any young woman like the one she played.

Critical Reception 

The Deer Hunter was widely praised by both critics and audiences. The only negative comments referred to the film’s “simplistic, bigoted, and historically inaccurate depictions of the Viet Cong and of America’s position in the Vietnam War.” It won multiple important awards, including five Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and two BAFTAs. It has also been featured on many “Best Film” lists.

You can watch the trailer here.

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Another Parent Thrown Out of a School Board Meeting in Florida

You may have seen something like this before. It’s happening in primary schools across the country. A parent comes to the podium at a PTA meeting and proceeds to read from a book that has been ordered for the school library. “I just want to read what is in this book,” they say. And then…

Click here.

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How Reese Witherspoon Became a Billionaire 

A fascinating explanation of how Reese Witherspoon made gazillions of dollars. Not from acting, although she’s done well with that, but from her book club.

The woman doing the explaining sounds like a true marketing expert. I don’t know why she seems resentful of Witherspoon for her business strategy. I think it’s smart and impressive. But you decide!

Click here.

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