The Rest - January 22, 2023

Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal ripping my heart out in Aftersun

Every Sunday I plan to post short takes on the rest of the films and TV shows I watched during the week. Here are this week's:

Abbott Elementary (2023) - Caught back up this week. We are not talking enough about how absurdly funny every kid on this show is.

Aftersun (2022) - I am not emotionally intelligent enough to explain why this movie hits so hard. But this poetic, metatextual film about a father and daughter grappling with the overpowering nature of existence in their own quiet, desperate ways may well destroy you. Charlotte Wells is operating on a whole other level. Don't make plans after, because you're going to need time to process it all.

Andor - Season 1 (2022) - Star Wars and I haven't gotten along in years, but Andy Serkis does some of the best acting this franchise has ever produced. Absolutely heartbreaking work. If you can't be bothered to watch the whole season (I wouldn't hold it against you), he's in episodes 8-10. The story is self-contained enough that you'll get the full effect.

Broker (2022) - At first it feels a little too similar to Hirokazu Kore-eda's previous film, the sublime Shoplifters. Both are empathetic dramedies about found families that do crimes (in this case, black market adoptions). It does eventually find its groove, and promptly rips your heart out. In the best way possible. It also has a Ferris wheel scene that gives The Third Man a run for its money.

Buck and the Preacher (1972) - Sidney Poitier's impressive directorial debut is a revisionist Western about a hired gun who helps black settlers head west. Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee are incredible in it. Really wish Poitier had circled back to Westerns after directing a few more films.

Happy Feet (2006) - My wife Laura and I started a book club with some friends from college at the beginning of the pandemic. Books, however, became too much of a time suck once lockdown lifted, so we shifted to movies. We're currently working through the filmography of George Miller. He won an Oscar for this, and it was a massive box office success, but it's easily his worst film. Messy script. Soulless animation. Some of the most grating voice acting of all time. It doesn't age well.

Happy Feet 2 (2011) - Laura and I usually wait until Sunday night to watch our movie club assignment, but we wanted to get it out of the way so we could enjoy the weekend... It's certainly an improvement over the first. Not because of the penguins, but because of two very fun krill, named Will and Bill, played by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. The way the film scales so wonderfully down to their level, and allows them to be cartoons, reveals just how uninspired the rest of this series is.

The Last of Us - series premiere (2023) - I haven't played the games, so I'm not sure where this is going, but there's some big Walking Dead energy coming off this one. Which is concerning, as that show grew too bleak for me a couple seasons in. But it could also go the way of Station Eleven, which I adored. Either way, Pedro Pascal is infinitely watchable (even when he's playing an action figure in The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey is bound to be a huge star. I'll keep watching.

My Year of Dicks (2022) - An outstanding animated short about a teen girl determined to lose her virginity in the 90s. The gorgeous animation varies from rotoscoped to abstract, fitting for the emotional roller coaster of the story. Written by Pamela Ribon (based on her book) and directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir. You can watch it right now on Vimeo.