June 16th-June 29th

Night Moves (Kelly Reichardt, 2014)

Blind Detective (Johnnie To, 2014)

Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton, 2003)*

The Fault in Our Stars (Josh Boone, 2014)

Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966)

The Merry Widow (Ernst Lubitsch, 1934)

...

Two weeks! 

Been late on this, sorry! Relapsed a bit into sickness, so even though I'm late, I will probably keep this short.

-Favorite of the week is definitely Au Hasard Balthazar. Not a masterpiece by any means, but an incredibly strong piece of work. Very moving. Surprisingly, not as straightforward as Bresson's other works, actually quite elliptical. I was confused about the plot development at several points in the story. I prefer the two other Bresson films to this, but there's not a single outright bad film in the trio. Soon, another. L'Argent, perhaps?

-A trio of 2014 film viewings. Blind Detective could be 2013, but I consider it '14. Also, my favorite of the three. Ridiculous, over-the-top, crazy, mile-a-minute action, humor, drama, and romance. That sentence may not have made sense, but neither did the movie, so? Sammi Cheng nearly steals the entire show. I love her. Can't recommend the film highly enough. Andy Lau is aces as well. I wrote about The Fault in Our Stars already elsewhere, so I will keep it short here; not as bad as I thought it would be, but not as great as others would attempt to make you believe. Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern are the standouts in their performances. I liked the soundtrack. Not much else stuck. Somewhere in the middle of Detective and Stars on the scale of likability is Night Moves by Kelly Reichardt. I love her other works, so I'm sad to say I was somewhat disappointed by her latest film. The first half is amongst the best filmmaking of her career; hypnotizing, intense, absolutely beautiful - a sight to behold, evoking films like The Night of the Hunter and The Battle of Algiers. At its midpoint, however, the film begins to resemble very much like a modern day Hollywood thriller. The performances and general filmmaking craft keep it afloat from becoming completely forgettable. It ends quite abruptly as well, which I did not expect, and I am still wrapping my head around what the last shot means.

-I revisited Finding Nemo. The film is fine. I don't have any problems with it. Good film.

-Lubitsch's The Merry Widow was a bit of a mess, but somehow Ernst manages to tidy it all up by the film's end. Maurice Chevalier is a national treasure. A sweet ending. A few funny moments, one involving editing and two different dogs.

-Not pictured: Extra Credits and The Game Theorists. I watched many youtube videos from these two channels. I highly recommend them. Both examine video games and their relationship with humanity, whether it be science, learning, or culture. A healthy alternative to the many reductive video game critics and "theorists" out there.