My Top 5 First Watches Of February
A good month.
February Movie Count: 67
2024 Movie Count: 127
Before we get into this, I’d like for people to not think I’m a movie watching degenerate. A lot of the films I watch are shorts, which are five to twenty minutes in total. That’s why my total is a lot higher than I had anticipated. Now, let’s get into it.
5. The Zone of Interest (2023)
The career that Jonathan Glazer has carved out is quite amazing. He’s directed four features, all of which are polar opposites from one another. His most recent was the dramatic Holocaust film, The Zone of Interest. When you think of typical Holocaust films, you think of Schindlers List or The Pianist where the film is shot from the point of view of those suffering at the hands of the Nazis. Glazer spins The Zone of Interest on its head and directs it from the point of view of the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss. We see him trying to raise his family in a beautiful home with a luscious yard — but right behind them, just yards away is Auschwitz. Throughout the film when the Höss family is celebrating birthdays or playing in the yard, you can hear screams and gunshots ring out from the confines of the concentration camp. It’s grim.
Where I think that Glazer excelled past just the allure of the family living next to Auschwitz was that he made their life feel mundane. They would sometimes go fishing or hangout in their yard, but they had a consistent schedule of Höss going to work, the kids going to school and his wife Hedwig being around the house. That’s a genius approach because what was occurring over the walls in Auschwitz was far from mundane. And Glazer continued that mundane theme up until the end of the film where you see the janitors enter the modern day Auschwitz museum to do their mundane daily tasks. They sweep in front of shoes of the deceased and vacuum in front of photos. This dull theme that he drove home only personified the severity of the crimes committed against the jews by the Nazis.
4.5/5 Stars
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
There are few romance films out there that when I first watched them I had my heart ripped out and stomped on repeatedly. In fact, I can only think of two. The first being Celine Songs Past Lives which had me crying like a bitch in the Amherst Cinema. The second is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My first takeaway is how unbelievable it is that Jim Carrey delivered such an amazing performance in a very serious role when he was coming off his comedic peak in the 90s with films like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Cable Guy and Liar Liar. His role as Joel Barish was one that was sad and void of a comedic presence — and Carrey nailed it. It’s truly one of the greatest career swings as he went from the “it man” in comedy films to this serious and somber character in one of the greatest romantic films ever.
Aside from Carrey’s performance, I think that, to no surprise, the script from Charlie Kaufman was outstanding. I love his writing in films like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, but Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind contains his deepest and most intimate lines of dialogue. The line that cut the deepest is when Joel is pleading with Clementine and she hits him with this dagger, “But you will! But you will. You know, you will think of things. And I'll get bored with you and feel trapped because that's what happens with me.” Heartbreaking stuff.
4.5/5 Stars
3. Dune: Part Two (2024)
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see Dune: Part Two in IMAX, but I did see it on the Thursday it released in theaters and by all accounts, it absolutely rocks. It’s a major step up from Dune, which came out in 2021; a film that I have mixed feelings about because the first hour is dreadfully boring, but recovers in the films back half. Right from the jump with Dune: Part Two, we are treated to a constant rush of action sequences and high stakes dialogue. If we’re being honest, I think that the opening sequence where the Harkonnen are searching Dune and get ambushed by the Fremen is in the realm of The Dark Knight and Saving Private Ryan when it comes to opening scenes. It’s that good.
In addition, we saw the emergence of one of cinemas greatest villains with Austin Butler playing Feyd-Rautha. My only complaint is that he’s not in the film for enough time. If he was used a bit more, then I’d feel confident in saying that he’s in the realm of Heath Ledgers Joker or Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh. My biggest takeaway after seeing Dune: Part Two is that we’re watching, arguably the greatest sci-fi director in Denis Villeneuve, on a historic run of science fiction films. His last four films in an eight year span have been biblically sensational movies in the genre with Arrival in 2016, Blade Runner 2049 in 2017, Dune in 2021 and now Dune: Part Two in 2024.
If you’re considering seeing Dune: Part Two, I’d urge you to see it as soon as possible in theaters. It’s one of those films like Mad Max: Fury Road, Avatar and Oppenheimer that need to be seen on the big screen because of its grand scale work.
4.5/5 Stars
2. Cat City (2017)
Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve found myself watching a lot of short films. Doing that has led me to the brilliant mind of Victoria Vincent and her zany style of animation where she’ll humanize cats fairly often. And while I’m not a cat person, I get a kick out of a lot of her shorts. The one I enjoyed the most was one from 2017 called Cat City. Vincent humanizes a runaway cat who looked for a more adventurous life in the city, but realizes that the grass isn’t always greener.
With minimal dialogue, Vincent shows this cat that needs to make money to pay his rent so he gets a job at a local barbershop. He’s giving out killer haircuts and bringing home money to survive in the city, but at the same time, he’s struggling to get rest due to a wailing child on his block who cries all night. The cats idea to drown out the noise is to get drunk night after night and that inevitably hinders his work which leads to him getting fired. Now, he’s stuck in this city jobless, drunk and unable to sleep due to the child’s screams. When the money ends up running out, the cat returns to the safety of his home. It sounds a bit silly, but this three minute short is both fun and heartbreaking because, past the main character being a cat, you fathom that there are people in the real world that have gone through something to this extent of losing a job and being down on their luck and turning to the bottle. Unfortunately, those people don’t usually have a place to turn back to. Cat did.
5/5 Stars
1. True Stories (1986)
“I really enjoy forgetting. When I first come to a place, I notice all the little details. I notice the way the sky looks. The color of white paper. The way people walk. Doorknobs. Everything. Then I get used to the place and I don't notice those things anymore. So only by forgetting can I see the place again as it really is.”
The more and more that I’ve gotten into movies, the more and more I’ve warmed up to films that contain grand musical numbers. Whether it’s La La Land, Wonka or Jersey Boys, I’ve developed a mature liking to movies like this. The latest in that category, and my favorite first watch of February was True Stories. Directed by the frontman from the Talking Heads, one of my favorite bands, David Byrne crafted a film that captures the essence of community and how it can come together through music. That musical flare shines through big time in the final performance from John Goodman’s character, Louis Fyne, when he sings a country song that I’ve had on repeat for the past week and a half. It’s a legitimate banger and seeing his characters confidence finally shine through proved how great of a writer David Byrne is with help from Stephen Tobolowsky and Beth Henley. It’s an all time awesome character arc.
The other aspect that attracted me heavily to True Stories was the fashion. Byrne has one of the most iconic looks of all time when he’s singing like a madman on stage during Stop Making Sense as he flaunts a killer suit that’s a few sizes too big. He brings that fashion sense to True Stories when he has John Goodman rocking vibrant suits that feels like they were the inspiration for Robert De Niro’s character in Casino, Ace Rothstein. Nevertheless, I absolutely adore this movie and will be purchasing it soon on Criterion Collection to watch it whenever I want.
5/5 Stars
