Burn After Watching, Seeing John Malkovich Scream and Curse

Movie Reviewed: Burn After Reading

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

Date Watched: 30 May 2021

jamesintexas rating: ***1/2

Endless fun. Watching John Malkovich scream and curse, George Clooney sweat and squirm, and Brad Pitt dance to music only he can hear is exactly what I needed today. A reminder of what a great actress Frances McDormand is (and Richard Jenkins for that matter), the loopy, silly plot covers a great deal of ground with the CIA, the Russians, a disc of memoirs, duplicitous marriages and affairs, insecurities and loyalty tests, and ferociously unsettling violence. Well-done.

Gritty Fun & Vengeance

Movie Reviewed: True Grit

Director: Joe and Ethan Coen

Date Watched: 30 May 2021

jamesintexas rating: ****

I just think this is a perfect film. Bridges is Tuben "Rooster" Cogburn, one-eyed overweight US Marshall, a curmudgeon who is willing, eventually, to do the right thing. Matt Damon is LeBouef, (La-Beef), a Texan of honor and principles. And the debut of Hailee Steinfeld as Maddie, the avenger of her father's murder, no nonsense and swift enough to out maneuver a bad deal and the turns and twists of Rooster and LeBouef, all delivered in a clipped, quick, fiercely intelligent cadence. I love The Coen Brothers, and I love this film, especially more having just read Portis's magnificent novel.

Two National Treasures: Chan and Tucker

Movie Reviewed: Rush Hour

Director: Brett Ratner

Date Watched: 18 May 2021

jamesintexas rating: **1/2

Chris Tucker is anarchic fun, and Jackie Chan is a delight, always. The film rarely rises to the level of these two performers, but it captures a moment in time when both men, eminently watchable, were on top of the world. Tucker is so much fun, and Chan is as great as Fred Astaire or Charlie Chaplin or both! The rest of the film is forgettable, but I'm thankful for this time capsule of these two marvelous performers who are impossible to ignore onscreen.

Minari Soars!

Movie Reviewed: Minari

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Date Reviewed: 30 May 2021

jamesintexas rating = ****

Streaming on Amazon

Director Lee Isaac Chung's new film Minari's delicate rhythms and quiet moments explore the nature of family, the nature of devotion, the setting of roots in a new place far away from the familiar, and the essence of the American Dream.  In a story set in the 1980's about Korean immigrants, Steven Yuen (so good on The Walking Dead) gives a shining, powerful performance as Jacob, a father trying to do right by his family, transplanting them from California to rural Arkansas to farm the land and live in a trailer there, throwing everything they have into this risky endeavor.  Monica (Yeri Han) plays his wife, fiercely protective of their daughter Anne (Noel Kate Cho) and son David (Alan S. Kim) while also great nervous at the precariousness of their new life.  Chung's camera tracks a walking Jacob as he paces the lengths of his land, searching for water and the proper elements to make his dream come true.  Similarly, he also tracks a walking David as he explores the hidden spaces in their new home and navigates both school and friendship, always with unexpected results.  

Mother-in-law (Yuh-jung You) arrives to help the struggling family, and her Oscar-winning performances electrifies the movie, giving it a rich humor and pathos.  To say more would be a sin, but Minari explores the idea of making it in America and all the struggles therein; its evocation of family and beauty evokes Terence Malick's great film Tree of Life.  Chung has crafted a masterpiece here, examining precisely what it means to be American, a thing that could not be more powerful in 2021.  

Simply put, Minari is one of the best films of the year.