Hacksaw Ridge

Never has a movie been more appropriately named. Mel went out and made a pretty decent war movie, but then jammed in a bunch of Christianity and pontificating. The boot camp/training scenes are overflowing with clichés. One almost wonders if Mel was TRYING to make a throwback in tone; the bloody war version of a Todd Haynes movie. Nevertheless, Mel thrives when the bodies are being blown apart, but falls on his face when the hero and his best gal go on a date. It almost feels like this was directed by two people. One, a talented commander of epic battles, and two, a ham-handed hack. Moments of this are pretty good, and moments of this are embarrassingly bad. It’s a fascinating juxtaposition, probably a lot like the voices in Mel Gibson’s head.

A Cure for Wellness

Ultimately a downer. This icky, creepy shaggy-dog story had some great visuals -- beautiful compositions of old sanitarium hallways and steam rooms. Lots of eels. So, so, so many eels. Almost too many eels. Is there really such a thing as too many eels? I'm getting off track. Regardless, the plot makes NO sense. I think it’s supposed to be an allegory for something, but I’m not sure what. Fertility? The holocaust? I’ve always liked Gore Verbinsky, but this was overwrought and underwhelming.

Loving

Refreshingly, this is less about the famous court case of Richard and Mildred Loving (Loving v. Virginia) and more about their marriage while they’re coping with all of the civil right injustices. Performances are sensitive and the filmmakers use great care to never make this preachy or ham-fisted. One wishes this same delicacy could have been used in Selma, another civil rights account worthy of way more tenderness and subtlety than those filmmakers wrought. Good to know, too, that sometimes the SCOTUS can be on the right side of history.

John Wick Chapter 2

DO.
NOT.
FUCK.
WITH.
JOHN.
WICK.

Manchester by the Sea

Unpretentious drama about how tragedies shape who we are going forward in our lives. While we can often NOT forgive ourselves, it still helps to be forgiven by others. It’s very well-acted, and the deepest human emotions are explored skillfully. It’s notably less tear-jerky than Lion or Moonlight, which makes it worthwhile. Although the resolution feels a bit downcast at first, on the drive home, one realizes there is some hope for redemption.