The prospect of watching the truly magnificent Frances McDormand take no prisoners in a revenge drama was the only thing that got me out to the theaters last month. There’s a lot of that in Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri,” and it’s a treat. Unfortunately it’s not enough to sustain this movie that really has no idea where to take its premise and resorts to maudlinism more often than you’d expect. Thumbs down.
Otherwise, November was a decent month for watching movies. Here are all twenty-two that I managed to squeeze in.
- “Girls Trip” I had high expectations; I was disappointed.
- “Arrival” Rewatched this along with Villeneuve’s back catalog. I liked it more than the first time.
- “Too Funny to Fail: The Life and Death of The Dana Carvey Show” Funny/sad story.
- “Brawl in Cell Block 99” Didn’t care for it.
- “Wheelman” A terrific B-movie.
- “The Immigrant” In theory James Gray makes the kinds of movies I should like. In practice I don’t like them.
- “Trading Places”
- “War for the Planet of the Apes” Turns out this is the best trilogy of the past decade.
- “Criss Cross” Delicious noir.
- “The King of Marvin Gardens” A bit too pat.
- “Boy” Super-fun.
- “Blade Runner” Umpteenth rewatch.
- “Zoolander” Useless.
- “Ghosts of Mars” Flimsy but not all that bad really.
- “Band Aid” Terrible title for a surprisingly good indie rom-com.
- “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Great trailer for a not great movie.
- “Wonder Woman” Rewatched and it still feels like a mess, though a terrific one.
- “The Sound of Music” Magical.
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming” Shrug.
- “Intimidation” Nasty good noir from post-War Japan.
- “Coco” I’m not crying you’re crying.
- “The Warped Ones” Flashes of brilliance but only flashes.
If you’re interested, here is what I watched in October, in September, in August, in July, in June, in May, in April, in March, in February and in January, as well as my full list of everything I watched in 2016. You can also follow along with my film diary over at letterboxd.com.
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