May 8 - May 14
Christine, Another Earth, Gravity, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evil Dead Rise, Pyewacket
- Christine [2016] - 95
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rebecca Hall gives an incredible performance in this biopic about Christine Chubbuck, a female reporter in the 70's struggling with all that might entail, as well as personal issues all her own. I don't typically write longform reviews for things older than 5-years, but this film is absolutely excellent and I'll be breaking my rule sometime this week.
- Another Earth [2011] - 59
When an exact copy of Earth appears in our skies, what are the implications? Are they really just like us? Are they only imitating us? Are they... us? Director Mike Cahill's second film, Another Earth mostly misses its lofty philosophical goals, but creates a great atmosphere and a certainly interesting [if only conceptually] ride.
- Gravity [2013] - 91
Another film I'll be breaking my 5-year rule for, Alfonso and Jonás Cuarón's Gravity is the greatest disaster film ever made. Featuring absolutely astounding use of sound, cinematography, and visual effects that still largely hold up a decade later, 'Gravity' is the movie James Cameron wishes he made.
- Jesus Christ Superstar [1973] - 53
A mostly confused, confusing, and contextless drunken excursion into the desert, JCS has some excellent vocal performances and interesting concepts that I'd love to see modernized and justified. There's something to be said for turning the Bible's most famous story into a serious, yet not evangelical, musical, I just don't think it translates 50-years later... But it could.
- Evil Dead Rise [2023] - 77
Coming in as the 100th film I've watched this year, Evil Dead Rise is an almost perfect genre horror film. Just enough context to make things work, excellent gore/ kills, plenty of spooky sounds and grotesque creature moments, and the right length to stay sharp but not be too concise. It's got some issues, but those are things not worth harping on when talking about genre horror such as this.
- Pyewacket [2017] - 82
Director Adam MacDonald's second film [his first being Back Country which I briefly reviewed last week] show's a huge advancement in his filmmaking, creativity, and prowess. Along with cinematographer Christian Bielz, something happened between that mostly bad 2014 hiking film and this 2017 psychological horror... And these two filmmakers have an incredibly bright future ahead of them.
