The Great Movie Conquest of 2022

The Great Movie Conquest of 2022 - Febuary

Welcome back, one and all, to my latest attempt to justify being enslaved to a million different streaming services. My efforts to watch one new movie a day all year haven't worn me out yet, but we're not even past the first quarter yet.

My first film of the month brought me to Baz Lurhmann's Australia, and it reminded me what a beautifully mysterious animal the feature film is. My writer's brain identified a small handful of technical issues with the film's plotting, but the emotional current of the film took me to a place that was epic, even spiritual. I don't know. When a film cuts straight to the core of your psyche, do setup and payoff even matter anymore? I think this film is fated for repeated viewings over the years as I untangle my response to this film.

One of my favorite films of all time is Billy Wilder's The Apartment with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. You'd think, then, that learning that the three had collaborated again with Irma La Douce would excite me, but their electric combination just feels like a bolt of lightning that could never strike the same place twice, so I went in feeling apprehensive.

The film itself had Wilder's signature cleverness, and it carried over the plot's absurd twists and turns. Lemmon and MacLaine were at their best. I don't know if this movie could ever supplant The Apartment, but at the same time I don't know if that's a fair expectation or if any film should be evaluated on such terms. Irma La Douce was a lot of fun, and I can be content with that for now.

I think the worst viewing experience goes to Lake Placid. Mind you, I don't think that the film's ambitions were ever that high, but my goodness it's irresponsible to make a film so hostile to human psychology. Don't tell me it's just a creature feature and I shouldn't be thinking about it so hard. Crawl had the same basic human vs crocodile plotline and that one didn't leave my brain feeling like grated cheese.

My apathy toward the state of award show politics, and my frustration with this year's ceremony in particular, hasn't stopped me from wanting to brush up on this year's Oscar nominees. The two that I hit this month were Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog and Lin-Manuel Miranda's tick, tick ... BOOM! Both offerings represent genres or topics I am invested in (toxic masculinity and modern musicals), though neither really gave me what I was looking for. I don't consider that a waste or a failure. We all need to listen to someone who disagrees with us from time to time.

I'm always interested to see the modern film world give westerns a try. Just so, I didn't resonate with some of the assumptions The Power of the Dog made about where toxic masculinity comes from or how to respond to it. Meanwhile, I was elated by the hyper-stylization of Tick, Tick ... BOOM! at least when the film's protagonist didn't feel so self-obsessed. (Just take the piano and be grateful, Jon.) This wasn't my favorite musical offering of the year, yet it somehow was the film that made me most hopeful for the future of the genre. I look forward to reading about how both films do at the ceremony this year.

Speaking of musicals, my one theater visit this month took me to Joe Wright's Cyrano, the review for which I only published yesterday. I'll just say here that the film makes a really good case for period-piece musicals.

Anyways, looking forward ...

The masses have spoken, and March's theme will be movies that my roommates say I need to watch. (What would my professors say if I finally ended up seeing Baby Driver at the behest of my roommates when I put off their own recommendation for years?)

I'm wanting to dedicate April to a specific country to help increase my literacy with international film, but I'm leaving it up to you to decide which country that will be. I've narrowed it down to Japan and France. Cast your votes here.

If I'm being totally honest with myself, this challenge was born mostly out of impatience. I want to be fluent in every kind of movie right now, and if I just consume a bunch of new movies in rapid succession, then I will finally get what I want. But if I look back at the things that have helped me feel secure in my study of film, numbers or scores factored very little into the equation. Realizing I had the capacity to understand a text deeply, that's what gives me peace of mind, and it's one of the reasons why I wanted to use this space to process the films I'm seeing.

So I guess the question is ... can a person's expertise have depth and breadth? I'll let you all know in January.

--The Professor

Alright, March, you're next!

Febuary's Harvest:

Australia (2008)

Journey to Italy (1954)

Shark Tale (2004)

Irma La Douce (1963)

I Shot Jesse James (1949)

Abominable (2019)

Prisoners (2013)

The Exorcist (1973)

The Social Dilemma (2020)

Easy A (2010)

An Officer and a Gentlemen (1982)

World War Z (2013)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Lake Placid (1999)

Hollow Man (2000)

The Power of the Dog (2021)

The Bravados (1958)

Designing Woman (1957)

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

The Coward (1965)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

tick, tick ... BOOM! (2021)

The House with a Clock in its Walls (2019)

Cyrano (2021)

The King of Kings (1927)

Ride Your Wave (2019)

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