What Else I Watched, 2024Q3

Catch me If You Can (2002)
Con man (Leonardo DiCaprio) masquerades as a pilot, surgeon, lawyer, and more while the feds try to track him down. Very entertaining movie and I should have seen it sooner. The story is complete fiction, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a wonderfully fanciful tale craftily done. AMRU 4.

Past Lives (2023)
I rewatched it with friends and they were underwhelmed, to say the least. I had modest expectations when I first saw it and I apparently oversold it to them. I gave it a 4.5 last time. Might need to downgrade that a bit.

The Angels' Share (2012)
Scottish hood finds a mentor and learns to appreciate scotch. Tough watch and sometimes hard to understand even with subtitles on. Still, it's worth the effort. AMRU 3.5.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Amusing and predictable addition to the franchise with somehow even more fan service than the previous. I appreciate the Bill Murray cameo and small roles by Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson, but bringing back Walter Peck and even the library administrator was a bit much. The film focuses primarily on Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) which is a good decision. Including Podcast and Lucky felt unnecessary. Patton Oswalt and Kumail Nanjiani appear because they must appear in every nerd franchise on earth. Silly, amusing, and loaded with plot holes. AMRU 3.

Gilda (1946)
Holds up to a second viewing but doesn’t rise to the top of the genre. Interesting story but the characters are unlikable. That’s not necessarily a flaw, but I think we should at least like Rita’s Gilda. The ending is surprisingly abrupt and, man, talk about a red flag relationship.

Film: The Living Record of our Memory (2021)
Long and rambling documentary about film preservation and restoration. For the uninitiated, film degrades over time, particularly if it isn’t stored in ideal conditions. Also, most early films were lost because they weren’t valued after they had their run. What could have been done in 90 minutes was stretched to two hours. Glad I watched, but had to split it up over a couple sessions.

Wild Mountain Tyme (2022)
Irish farmer (Christopher Walken) doesn’t want his son to inherit the family farm because he isn’t married. Son (Jamie Dornan) likes his longtime neighbor (Emily Blunt), but is too damaged to ask her. Based on a stage play and the pretentious dialog sounds it, which contrasts with the beautiful photography. There are several “what the hell are they talking about?” moments, and Walken’s Irish accent borders on a hate crime. Weird and somewhat interesting, but I can't recommend it. AMRU 2.5.

I managed seven "off-brand" films this quarter, but I am finding it hard to find time to watch anything. We'll see how Q4 goes.