weekend watchlist: a couple of treasures for Pride Month
Plus a lovable English crank and a put-upon Texan mom. (First published June 18th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
Bill Nighy
Sometimes Always Never movie review: only very intermittently
Gentle kook and visual frolicking bury emotion in this tale of a man mired in grief. Little of its head-scratching whimsy makes a melancholy landing; most just floats away on wisps of insignificance.
Emma. movie review: this queen bee has a bitter sting
A sly, penetrating zing and a frisson of Insta-influencer horror — of the oppression of performative perfection against a marzipan backdrop — renders Austen’s fluff and nonsense deadly serious.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu movie review: destined to be Legendary
Designed to cash in on the popular mobile game, this kiddie noir nevertheless sparkles with charming originality. Gentle enough for tykes but with satirical bite for grownups, too. Downright adorable.
The Bookshop movie review: quiet portrait of a woman of words
It’s weighed down by unnecessary narration and a surprising lack of conflict. But star Emily Mortimer and director Isabel Coixet create a character study of a rarity onscreen: an earnestly cerebral woman.
The Limehouse Golem movie review: riffing on the Ripper
Lush sensationalism and Dickensian social justice collide in 1880s London, and if there isn’t quite enough of either, it’s still a slice of satisfying gothic horror.
Their Finest movie review: keeping calm and carrying on making movies
Delightful dry and snarky satire on wartime propaganda, sharp feminist commentary, and a brilliant cast make this snappy historical dramedy a real corker.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movie review: return visit
There’s not much of a story, just a chance to spend more time with the gang of classy sexy randy oldsters. And that’s just fine.
Pride movie review: hanging together rather than hanging separately
One of the rare movies that gets absolutely everything right, bursting with happy-tears emotion about solidarity, friendship, and smashing bigotry.
I, Frankenstein review: beware, for it is pointless
It’s alive! In a technical sense: images flicker on the screen, etc. But it is a soulless, unholy monstrosity. Behold: the movie without a protagonist!
