Celluloid Chronicles: June Roundup

I did make it to the theater #godbless, so here's some moderately paced reviews...

The Flash

Led by our neighborhood toxic tender queer I will say that it may be one of the best of DC as of late. Unfortunately it is the end of an era for DC films which may have led to many fans from seeing or supporting it. I personally did not care for the SynderVerse (nerds will understand), but I appreciate DC's attempts to not be trash. The humor is very DC (corny/baby edgelord). However, it was more balanced than some of Marvel's recent films (ex: Quantumania, Love & Thunder). Ezra is very convincing and really made me want to see another Flash adventure which probably won't happen for awhile if ever given the circumstances of their mental state and the financial success of the company. There's an ample amount of heart. The CGI is allegedly uncanny out of an artistic choice, but it took me out of the film. The effect work done to create two Ezras was impeccable. Contrary to many, this was not a Batman film, but a Flash film featuring Batman and introducing questionable cameos.

Asteroid City

The first Anderson film I consciously watched was viewed in the basement of a gender inclusive literary society on the campus of a liberal arts university with a well known film department. That context is necessary when it comes to things I may have to say about certain auteurs who overtake the zeitgeist.

I have heard that many people consider this to be the best of his work. I have not seen all of his work. I will say that using a story-within-a-story and discussing the hot topic of the day (Grief!)  does not make this the best of Wes Anderson, but this is certainly worth discussing. Anderson touches upon some deep stuff that could have really shone he did not rely on some of his filmmaking quirks. His quick cuts and fast talking characters do not allow the audience to really sit with some of the heaviness that I believe was meant to be acknowledged. Some of the emotional hits are simply lost. I gave this film mostly undivided attention and still l was barely able to keep up and keep track of what was going on and what was being said. I am serious that Anderson's films required closed captioning because of how he directs the actors.  There is some queer subtext(?) that is very important in the grand scheme of things but comes and goes so rapidly most would miss out on this deep layer of the various modes of grief he was trying to showcase. That was disappointing. This was an attempt at stepping out of his box a bit but it was still bogged down by the quirks is he known for.  I am doing a ton of written gymnastics to just say that I thought that the film was..........good. But I have my critiques and I encourage folks to not put people on pedestals.

On a silly note, I joke that the desert setting allows his usual pale cast to lean racially ambiguous.

Sanctuary

Kinda bonkers and kinda hot. This may be on my short list of romantic comedies I would rewatch. This is an indie film about an heir to big business who wants to end the D/s relationship  he has been having with a dominatrix and she does not approve. There is no telling where this leads until you reach the end and then it's over. Fear, confusion, empathy, you get it all in a pretty tight film. There were some great shots in this film. The chemistry between the actors is off the charts. They were pretty awesome at committing to the bit and only working off of one room/space/ location for the entirety of the film. There was a point where it felt gratuitously bonkers and didn't really mesh with the rest of it, but I appreciated the spirit.

Definitely interesting to watch this after reading four books on the topic a month prior. Worth a rewatch for further analysis. Don't watch the trailer, just check it out.

Sigh so many films are coming out, it's hard to keep up. I'll do my best.