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The Power of the Dog (2021)
Works well as a social commentary to be studied, but not so well cinematically
I was a bit hesitant going into this film remembering how Jane Campion tends to linger long on emotional topics. Power of the Dog was no exception. I appreciate slow burn dramas with subtext that has to be addressed to truly appreciate the film, but I can't avoid leaning heavily into the pun: It's the tail wagging the dog in this case.
I will not give any spoilers whatsoever, as I want potential viewers to know what they are getting into. In a nutshell, you will spend 2 hours watching people behaving in a way that seems purposefully to keep you from learning their motivations (at least in my opinion). Immediately after the credits rolled, I went looking for a youtube video to explain what just happened. After a 9 minute synopsis, I understood what just happened after the last 2 hours, leading me to this conclusion: The subtext and social commentary are varied, intriguing, and definitely something you could devote a class, term paper, or lengthy social media post to discussing. But as a film, it just doesn't quite hit the "enjoyable" mark.
The subtleties are really what drive the movie, and are also what lead to questionable success. A blatantly casual viewer would go into this film expecting some sort of sequel to Underdog, others can easily miss plot points, and be bored/flabbergasted by the end. Astute viewers will pick out a few things, but only the most astute will put them together before the end of the film. And in my opinion, you would have to be pretty far to the right of the bell curve to get everything by the end to fully understand what you just watched.
In short, if you are in the mood to look behind the dialogue to study the motivations in a character's eyes and actions, and don't give a hoot about anything else, then go for it! Otherwise, casual viewers be warned! The acting is great (for the most part) and the scenery is amazing, but you might be fighting sleep even before the halfway point.
So consider yourself warned.
Oh, I know I said no spoilers, but I have to ask, why is Campion so fascinated by male derrieres? She is at it again, this time in spades. I still haven't gotten over Harvey Keitel's naked butt dance on the beach, and it's been 25 years...
Pete Davidson: Alive from New York (2020)
Better than many
Take this performance for what it is. Comedians rarely fire on all cylinders (with a few notable exceptions depending on your preferred flavor of comedy). Is this the funniest thing you will ever see? No. But there are laugh out loud moments that are enough to keep you moving past the awkward ones. To be clear, I am neither a fan, nor a hater of Pete Davidson. His rare appearances on SNL have evoked a chuckle occasionally, but rarely more than that. I always found him a bit aloof, but endearing. I was very curious, and somewhat dubious of his ability to handle a stand-up routine. Once I gave it a chance, I was actually surprised. I have seen less engaging comics have longer sets with weaker material. If you can get 15 minutes of really funny material out of a 40 minute set, I say that's pretty good. Consider this an album with a few really good songs and check it out.