The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans (Stephen Spielberg, 2022)

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Rating: Q=8, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=4, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Memoir, Family, Coming of Age, 1950s-1960s

What a beautiful story about Stephen Spielberg's childhood and adolescence. This story is much more than just a love lotter to cinema, as many reviewers have phrased it. This film is about independence, confidence, passion, conflicts of art vs. family and love vs. duty. It resonated so much with me despite being such a different experience from my own. This is what movies should do!

Movies and the moviegoing experience can be so personal and leave such an impact. I loved watching Spielberg's journey and how making movies helped him connect with his family, friends, communities, and himself. I can't praise this film enough--go see it!

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Elvis

Elvis (Baz Luhrmann, 2022)

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Rating: Q=7, P=6 / Can't Get Enough

Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Biopic, Music, Race, 1950s-1970s

All films are a product of the time when they were created--even historical dramas or biopics. It's impossible not to have some contemporary elements or sensibilities seep in. Baz Luhrmann always impresses me with his ability to make a film that showcases this. His films both overtly and subtlety blend classic stories with today. He is a master of adaptation.

To make a film about Elvis seems perfect. I would argue that Elvis is Luhrmann's best film yet, and definitely his best adaptation. Everyone knows who Elvis is and knows his music. And most people understand the significance of his music and actions on both the musical world and American culture. But Luhrmann is able to show the magnitude of Elvis's impact through unique scripting (plot devices and choices) and editing and a powerful score/soundtrack. The film mimics its subject in so many ways.

There is also a nod to the world of the carnival and films like Nightmare Alley. Elvis is a tragedy, telling us how one of the first great American icons/heroes became a sideshow geek...

Mesmerizing film, amazing performances, brilliant musical choices.

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Alpha

Alpha (Albert Hughes, 2018)

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Rating: Q=6, P=6 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Adventure, Coming of Age, Pre-History

What a stunning film! Awe-inspiring scenery to match an epic journey. Alpha is the story of the first dog, but also a brutal journey of one young man and the bond he makes with another. It is about survival, resilience, trust, and loyalty. There aren't many films set in pre-history that imagine what life was like and don't feel too much like documentaries. This one is special--the constructed language, the clothing...I will watch this again and again.

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Everything, Everywhere All at Once

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, 2022)

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Rating: Q=7, P=6 / Can't Get Enough

Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Philosophical

I've often thought about what my life could have been like IF I had gone away from home for college, IF I had not gone to Australia to study abroad, IF I had not met certain people, etc. And also about how the little, seemingly unimportant decisions could have made a difference, too: what IF I had walked one the other side of the street or chosen to put my socks on before my shirt... Everything, Everywhere All at Once is a fantastic voyage into this world of "what ifs" and it plays with the multiverse theme (which has kind of gotten out of hand recently) in a new way that I found refreshing and wonderful. This film is mesmerizing and chaotic and lightning fast. It is hilarious and poignant and beautiful. It is the perfect representation of what our human lives really feel like--a miraculous and ridiculous mess.

At the heart of this action-packed, fantasy sci-fi story, is reality. Evelyn and her family are real people with real problems, however mundane or typical. They live a noisy life that's pulled them apart and left them unhappy. In those moments of unhappiness, people wonder what they've missed or what they could have been in different circumstances or by making different decisions. If I had only done this I would be happier now... wrestling with these thoughts, diving head-first into the emotions can help bring us back. This film definitely leaps into our heads and pulls out the thoughts and daydreams right before our eyes. It's spectacular.

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