I made up for lost time and watched five movies over the longish weekend:
- Thoroughbreds
- The Greatest Showman...
- Hereditary
- The Princess Bride
- Thor: Ragnarok
I already commented on Hereditary and Thoroughbreds in their own threads.
The Greatest Showman, I kind of hate. One quick fix -- do not make about PT Barnum, make it about a fictitious ringleader BASED on PT Barnum. Because it kind of had no meaning whatsoever. The director also had only directed TV commercials and boy did that show. There is no narrative arc. It's all pretty much like being on one continual coke buzz, blaring at the top of its lungs. Ironically, I was thinking, "This is like High School Musicial for adults, blasting at 11" and I totally forgot Zac Efron was in it, so I about lost it when he appears. Anyway, it's more on the level of "morality" play; there is no real nuance of character or situation, it's just noise and sound and "all time high." I would have had more fun getting a root canal. People would like to compare it to Moulin Rouge, except they actually had a story and characterization there and some variation in the music based on the emotional needs of the scenes; this film was essentially just a video advertisement for the film's soundtrack, all of which sounded like the top 40 pop cookie cutter sound du jour.
Thor: Ragnarok, I actually enjoyed more on this SECOND viewing. I still think Hela was kind of one-note even if kinda cool at first --- but she was so nasty, why did she even need an army? And if she needed an army, why did she butcher all of Asgard's army? And....? Well, you get the idea. I did forget the post-credits scene... it TOTALLY LEADS INTO INFINITY WARS. Doh. Tessa Thompson is still easily the MVP of this film.
The Princess Bride... well, I just hadn't watched it for a few years and wanted to see it again. There's nothing to compare to the sequence where Inigo finally catches up with Count Rogan. For a kind of gentle jokey movie, that scene is so powerful.