Red Snow 2021 ★★★
Red Snow looks like a (halfway) decent vampire romcom-ish romp set at Christmas.
The cast was solid, the leads had chemistry and some of the jokes were actually pretty good. Though I am still in doubt about the season's greetings pun. Is it bad, good or "so bad it's good"?
What do you think?
Cocaine Bear 2023 ★★★★
Cocaine Bear delivered everything a movie with that title was supposed to.
This Braindead-light is situated somewhere in the middle between splatstick and movies like Zombieland. With one shot completely lifted from the latter. If you know, you know.
I understand Elizabeth Banks got a bit of flack for her take on Charlie's Angels. I have not seen it that one yet, so I cannot say if it's justified. But here, she did a solid job, delivering a very enjoyable bit of eighties retro. With one character looking kind of like Tom Delonge in the video for Blink 182's First Date. Cheers, Liz.
The characters and the plot were appropriately silly. The kills were a decent mix of gore and whoopsies. The time flew by, not in the least because the cast turned it into an enjoyable comedy with solid performances across the board. Wether it's Keri Russell as the mom or the kids or the hijinx with the gangsters or the park rangers. Ray Liotta plays a goofy version of his mob characters and Ice Cube Junior seems to be going for that same grump-schtick his father does whenever he does a comedy.
The question is: how can you say dumb shit? If you can say it with a friendly smile, then pull up a beer and some snacks and enjoy the ride. If you can only say it in a condescending tone while spurning, this is not for you.
Kinsey 2004 ★★★
Kinsey is a solid biopic. You get a pretty comprehensive picture of how Alfred Kinsey became the man he would eventually be known as: somebody whose impact on the sexual revolution and the acceptance of gays and lesbians can probably not be measured nor expressed in words. Though it is a bit of a cold shower (no pun intended) that this research stems from a boring intellectual and a bookworm who just happened to stumble across this topic by the dumb luck (pun intended) of being very well endowed.
It shows the adversity Kinsey and his research encountered, both from white and blue collar folks, from prudes and people who were just afraid of discovering new things (ie they only have one question (am I normal?) and they want the answer to be yes, end of conversation). And of course the ignorance that reigned at that time. Something the movie gently pokes fun at in the first act.
That said, it's not all fun and games. Kinsey comes under scrutiny, prudes try to become monkey wrenches and Kinsey's own character and his OCD/workaholic tendencies get in his way. It raises the question how accurate this portrayal of Kinsey was, because there is something fascinating about how somebody can possess the type of warmth that gets everyone to open up and spill their guts, while at the same time not being able to (or even interested in) reading the room and trying to find the appropriate tone in his day to day life.
It also shows just how revealing this research was in one of the more touching scenes. When his father (again a great performance by John Litgow) opens up about the sexual traumas from his youth and the subsequent torture he experienced, before clamming up again, overwhelmed by thoughts and emotions and frustrations he cannot comprehend or handle. But it ends on a hopeful note, with one testimony that stood for the many people touched/liberated by his work.
Odd to see Laura Linney get the Oscar nod. Like most people in this movie, she was very good, portraying a complex character torn between her love for her husband and his work (I think she both understood the relevance of his work and admired the passion with which he dug into it) and her own feelings (the infidelity argument) and fears (this is beyond my comprehension, this is more than I bargained for). She was good, very good, but to say that she stood out that much to justify that? That might be a bit much.
Maybe not earth shattering, but a good watch nonetheless.
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