Days of The Week (Films Watched February 11 – 17)

 

 

 

A light week last week, gang.

Outings were the order of the week – quality time with friends and family, not to mention an evening spent watching the big stars in rock put on one huge concert and hand-out a few trophies.

It left little time for watching – so little in-fact that I’ll have the whole tally for last week eclipsed by the time I hit the hay tonight.

But I’m all caught-up on several shows, so there’s that…

The standout of the week for me was probably A BIGGER SPLASH, which likely would have made my Top 25 List for 2016 if I’d seen it in-time.

 

It’s one thing to watch our premier actors weave their spells in films where they are given little to act off; stories of solo survival like ALL IS LOST or CAST AWAY. But how often do we get to watch an actor of Tilda Swinton’s calibre weave her spell over us without saying a word?

Sure there are instances like Dujardin and Bejo in THE ARTIST, or going back further, Samantha Morton. But by and large, very few storytellers have the stones to write such a role, and few actors seem willing to give it their all.

Swinton – international treasure that she is – takes the challenge and positively runs with it. Her body language speaks volumes; both volumes of joy and volumes of deep frustration. Her pure magnetism deeply channels the chameleon she’s standing in for (Bowie), which is a role many of us have wanted her to play for a long time.

Then of course, the moment she lets silence slip away and becomes a quaking pile of sadness and fear. It’s as thought she’s been a post-modern coil tightly wound the whole film…and the spring has finally snapped.

It’s incredible; a film that makes me dearly want to visit Sicily and listen to classic rock…and all the same, make me want to huddle under a blanket at home and keep the stereo turned off.

Sure there’s the twisted jail bait performance of Dakota Johnson, the gruffness of Matthias Schoenaerts, and the pure hedonism of Ralph Fiennes…but it’s Swinton that steals the show.

As she tends to do.

 

Here’s the week at hand…

 

Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
A BIGGER SPLASH – Can’t say I cared much for “Emotional Rescue” before. But hearing Ralph Fiennes growl “This is tops…” over and over while shaking his ass.
WORKING GIRL –Oh sure, but when I change my shirt in the office, I’m being “inappropriate”…
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC –What exactly is the traditional dinner for Noam Chomsky Day?

 

Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Seen Before
DJANGO UNCHAINED – Every time that I think of how QT followed this opus with HATEFUL EIGHT, I just sigh and shake my head.

 

Boxscore for The Year
28 First-Timers, 21 Re-Watched
7 Screenings
49 Movies in Total

How’s about you – seen anything good?