A narrator makes all the difference in the world. One can easily imagine the story of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who died together while observing the eruption of Mount Unzen, told with withering nihilistic disbelief by Werner Herzog. Or their matching red knit caps as the centerpiece of the production design for a twee fictionalized version of molten melancholy by Wes Anderson, perhaps the Life Volcanic. Instead, in her compilation of the couple’s own photos and films, Sara Dosa has enlisted the talents of Miranda July, who conveys the story of their lives together with boundless wonder and aching romance.
Two takes on Flux Gourmet, Peter Strickland’s Foodie Provocation
Set during an experimental art collective’s stay at an elite monthlong creative residency in an English country manor house, Peter Strickland’s latest cinematic provocation will certainly raise both eyebrows and questions. Peter Strickland’s newest film played as part of this spring’s Seattle International Film Festival, Tony and I saw it separately, and enjoyed the cinematic feast with varying levels of indigestion. Regardless, we both agree that for those of certain appetites, it’s worth your time. With the film getting a theatrical run this weekend, we revisit our warmed-over festival reactions.
Our Favorite Films of (the first half of) 2022
Somehow we’re already halfway through 2022. Amid the fireworks and festivities of the long weekend, we took stock of our favorite movies of the year. We each separately compiled our individual lists and in a surprising bit of unanimity we all picked the DANIELS’ maximalist multiverse-spanning sci-fi saga Everything Everywhere All At Once as our favorite.
Thor: Love and Thunder is a shockingly unfunny Marvel movie
It is an experience that can best be described as sitting next to a drunk friend who rambles on and on with a story that they believe to be hilarious when it is actually anything but.
Let Baz Luhrmann razzle and dazzle you with Elvis
There is a lot of razzle dazzle in Elvis and it honestly made me not care about some of the movie’s very large flaws. I had a great time watching this movie even though most of the criticisms I and others have are valid.
Brian and Charles should have stayed as a short
Just because you can make a short into a feature length film, doesn’t mean you should.
Cha Cha Real Smooth slides into theaters and AppleTV+
As he demonstrated with Shithouse, Cooper Raiff is so incredibly great at making deeply sentimental movies about the extremely emotionally available as they experience fleeting life-changing moments that you suspect he gives them silly titles as a handicap. Writing, directing, and casting himself in a starring role with Dakota Johnson as his love interest is enough to make you hate the upstart auteur if the results weren’t such an absolutely joyous delight.
Lightyear brings Pixar back to theaters on a ride to infinity, if not beyond
At long last, Pixar returns to theaters with “the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on”. It’s less complicated that it seems, but nevertheless a blockbuster that’s fun for the whole family.
In Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, sex is as revealing of the characters as it is of the flesh
Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack shine in a character study about sex that, while largely confined to a single room, is vast in its emotional depth.
SIFF favorite All Sorts gets a red carpet premiere tonight at the Egyptian
The road from conception to production to premiere can be long and winding for any film, let alone a regionally-filmed indie, and all the more so for one whose launch is muddled by something like a global pandemic that drastically disrupted theatrical releases. Such is the case for J. Rick Castañeda’s All Sorts, which was filmed in Central Washington way back in 2018. When it had its virtual premiere during SIFF 2021, it was a consensus favorite at the SunBreak.