twelve angry men: unfortunately good

SO. twelve angry men, a classic example of how to do more with less, really is quite good. it started off quick, just a brief introduction and then you're in the room with twelve men who don't want to be there. at first i found myself a bit distracted, eating my dinner, checking some other tabs, and then as the plot progressed, without noticing i became more and more glued to the screen, watching the feints and twists, and then it stuck the landing.

i was fascinated to note that i could predict some of the plot twists based on a cultural vibe likely derived from other movies that lifted from or gave a nod to this one. but a satisfying experience regardless!

9/10, i still can't quite get over that earnest old movie vibe where they really do believe in justice and fairness and the rule of law and i'm like oh that's cute. that's really cute.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: get shippy with it

belated thoughts on "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World": uh. pretty good.

I have a half-feverish memory of watching this movie at some point in elementary school because my parents are fans of the novel series, so watching it now was an exercise in putting various snippets and quotes into context. It's a well constructed movie, but I suspect its writers subscribe too heavily to the 'great man' theory of history.

9/10. a delightful romp. just let the sailing jargon wash over you.

Whale Rider: Death of the Author is Counterproductive

So this is a movie that I watched it, and then I thought, this is rather like a certain era of movie...what am I thinking of...and then I went and looked it up and it was directed by a white woman who also directed the live-action Mulan remake. and then i thought. ah. it all makes sense now.

Now that's very harsh, because there are quite a lot of good things about this movie. I enjoyed the soundtrack very much, found the acting incredible, & overall had a decent time. but man, you can't ignore the Context sometimes!

8/10. if you want to cry this'll probably do the trick.

Little Women (1949): Low on the Hierarchy

watched this out of the corner of my eye while making bobbin lace, which was perhaps not the best way to experience a movie but i wanted to get this one out of the way and off my list. unfortunately, I was rather bored. June Allyson lacks depth, the costumes are just sort of old timey without being very interesting (mostly), and what is with the professor's horrible sort of Spanish accent??

3/10. maybe someone else would enjoy it more. I have honestly never been that wild about any version of Little Women.

Words and Music (1948): Certainly a Lot of Music

mid-tier. amusing singing and dancing from the most eclectic assortment of MGM stars i've ever seen. it's as if all of them needed at least 10 minutes of screen time in order to not have to put in any time on the simulator, so dispatch decided to fit them all in at once. downer ending. apparently very loosely autobiographical. also the death scene was about 1 minute too long.


5/10, each individual performance was fine. they just didn't add up.