I found Last Night in Soho technically impressive in spots, but it showed Wright’s shortcomings when it comes to non-comedic horror. The ghosts just aren’t that scary.
I found The Card Counter a relative disappointment after First Reformed, perhaps because I’m less of a Bergman aficionado (I didn’t watch Winter Light until some time after First Reformed). Neither of the relationships the protagonist developed over the course of the film really worked for me.
Speaking of Bergman, I wouldn’t say I find Tyler Cowen a reliable arbiter of taste, but I found this recent mini-review from him quite funny:
“[I]t is hard to know what to make of the utterly failed Bergman Island. Under what theory of the world does this cinematic outing make any sense whatsoever? Perhaps it is best interpreted as a self-referential punishment for those who, circa 2021, still think they ought to be watching movies titled Bergman Island. In that regard it succeeds beautifully.”
And, of course, since he chose to watch it he surely deserved the punishment he received.
I tend to associate the musical format with the stage rather than screen, but I suppose earlier in the history of (sound) film musicals were all the rage. So perhaps that just reflects me coming of age at a low-ebb for musicals when music videos already existed.
I found Last Night in Soho technically impressive in spots, but it showed Wright’s shortcomings when it comes to non-comedic horror. The ghosts just aren’t that scary.
I found The Card Counter a relative disappointment after First Reformed, perhaps because I’m less of a Bergman aficionado (I didn’t watch Winter Light until some time after First Reformed). Neither of the relationships the protagonist developed over the course of the film really worked for me.
Speaking of Bergman, I wouldn’t say I find Tyler Cowen a reliable arbiter of taste, but I found this recent mini-review from him quite funny:
“[I]t is hard to know what to make of the utterly failed Bergman Island. Under what theory of the world does this cinematic outing make any sense whatsoever? Perhaps it is best interpreted as a self-referential punishment for those who, circa 2021, still think they ought to be watching movies titled Bergman Island. In that regard it succeeds beautifully.”
And, of course, since he chose to watch it he surely deserved the punishment he received.
I tend to associate the musical format with the stage rather than screen, but I suppose earlier in the history of (sound) film musicals were all the rage. So perhaps that just reflects me coming of age at a low-ebb for musicals when music videos already existed.
I’m excited for the cinephiles coming of age now, in a year full of good movie musicals.
– David