The Sheila Variations

Supernatural, Season 11, episode 4 “Baby” (2015; d. Thomas J. Wright)
This episode just grows in stature the further away we get from it. It’s quite brilliant.

Mandy (2018; d. Panos Cosmatos)
I went into Mandy not knowing much about it. All I knew was a couple of people I trusted were raving about it on Facebook. I went and saw it at IFC and emerged as if from a nightmare. It’s an absolutely brilliant film and I don’t even know if I can sufficiently describe it. The closest I can get to expressing what Mandy feels like is it is as if you are watching a Black Sabbath album cover come to life. This has been a very good year for movies, but this one very quickly went to almost the top of my list. It’ll definitely be in my Top 10. I am in love with this movie.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018; the Coen brothers)
I had really been looking forward to this, and I had also managed to avoid much of the buzz. Nic Rapold’s interview with Zoe Kazan is just WONDERFUL. She’s very smart and thoughtful, and made me think in a deeper way about how each episode may inform the others. I will admit that one of my main responses was visceral. Bill Heck is so good in such a throwback way I can only describe him as playing “the Gary Cooper role.” And Gary Cooper is not a “type” that exists anymore. It’s not a modern type. But here it is, in the flesh, and Heck owns it. He’s not “commenting” on the type, or trying to act “old-fashioned” or whatever: He plays the role with such confidence in what he’s doing it really does make you feel like you’ve gone back in time watching him. Not to the 19th century era in which the episode takes place, but to the KINDS of movies the Coen brothers are paying (ironic) tribute to. Heck is a tall glass of water, a lean and taciturn man, a natural leader, but shy and almost courtly when dealing with this lost and uncertain woman (played by Kazan). It was my favorite episode in the film, and the most frankly romantic sequences the Coen brothers have ever directed. Sweet.

Pit Stop (2013; d. Yen Tan)
I came home from Buster Scruggs and Googled Bill Heck. Because my main response to the film was “WHO THE HECK IS BILL HECK??” He’s got a nice resume, but not a lot of lead roles. One thing popped up that looked interesting, a 2013 movie called Pit Stop. I watched it and it’s very good. Interesting dovetail with my recent time in Memphis: I was picked up at the airport by one of the volunteers with the festival – who’s also a local Memphis director. Such a nice guy! He was also picking up three other guys coming in from Houston. They were actors and filmmakers themselves. Two were on juries like myself, and one was there because he was in a feature playing at Indie Memphis. Mark took us all out for barbecue at Payne’s BBQ, in an old mechanics’ garage. These guys were all so nice, and I really enjoyed getting to know them. As we were driving into Memphis, we were all talking about movies we had seen and liked. I was the only person who had seen Buster Scruggs, and they were looking forward to it, so we had a brief discussion. I said something like, “I am deeply in love with an actor named Bill Heck. He is such a Gary Cooper type it’s like he’s walked out of the 1940s. He is so so good.” Frank Mosley, who was sitting next to me in the minivan, was like, “Wait, that name sounds familiar …” He checked on his phone and said, “Oh. I knew I had heard the name somewhere. I was in a movie directed by Yen Tan – who also did Pit Stop, that Bill was in.” I said, “I just saw it! I really liked it!” “Yeah, Yen said he really liked working with Bill.” “He’s an incredible actor.” So first, there’s that connection. Then, Amy Seimetz – an actress and a filmmaker – was also at Indie Memphis, on a jury, and I moderated a panel with her as a participant. Anyway, she’s in Pit Stop, and she’s fantastic. So now I feel like I basically know every single person involved, and I just saw the movie 2 weeks ago. All because of Bill Heck.

The Happy Prince (2018; d. Rupert Everett)
I reviewed for Ebert. Well worth your while. So sad. It made me cry.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018; d. Morgan Neville)
Yes. It’s as incredible as everyone said. I was an absolute wreck.

The Sentence (2018; d. Rudy Valdez)
Reviewed this documentary for Rogerebert.com.

A Star is Born (2018; d. Bradley Cooper)
I absolutely loved it. I went with Allison and we were so into it. It’s devastating, really. A good old-fashioned melodrama. This moment where he appreciates her nose has caught some flak, and I disagree wholeheartedly with the interpretation that this is creepy and “objectifying.” I mean … he loves her nose. He’s turned ON by her nose. This is … a good thing? Because … she’s into him? Honestly, much of the commentary on A Star is Born was so boring to me. I loved the film.

A Simple Favor (2018; d. Paul Feig)
Fantastic movie. I reviewed for Rogerebert.com – and then I took Allison to see it. We went straight from A Star is Born to this. It was such a fun day.

Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes (2018; d. Hugh Ballantyne)
Allison and I left our double feature, went to her place, and watched this. We enjoyed a lot of this but disapproved of the use of re-enactments.

Private Life (2018; d. Tamara Jenkins)
This movie is so good. I reviewed for Film Comment. It’s on Netflix now. See it.

22 July (2018; d. Paul Greengrass)
Also on Netflix, about the murderous maniac who killed almost 80 people in Norway, via a bomb, and then a killing spree at a youth camp. Greengrass is good at this sort of stuff.

Support the Girls (2018; d. Andrew Bujalski)
I loved this movie. Regina Hall gave one of my favorite performances this year. Definitely Top 5. See it!

Mid90s (2018; d. Jonah Hill)
Wasn’t crazy about it. I barely remember it and I saw it like 2 weeks ago. I reviewed for Rogerebert.com.

Supernatural Season 14, episode 1 “Stranger in a Strange Land” (2018; d. Thomas J. Wright)
Probably not a good sign that I already don’t remember it.

First Man (2018; d. Damien Chazelle)
There were things I liked – I’m a sucker for astronauts – and things I didn’t. Flashbacks to dead daughter during his first moon walk. Come ON. What is INTERESTING about these men is how UNLIKE the rest of us they are. I know it’s a tough truth and everyone wants everyone to be the same but we AREN’T the same. Tom Wolfe heard the difference in the sound of these guys’ voices over the radio. It piqued his interest. Who ARE these guys, who sound so cool and calm as they’re plummeting towards the earth? By turning the moon-walk into a psychodrama – by making it seem like Neil Armstrong had to go to the moon in order to heal from his daughter’s death – it ends up diminishing ALL of it. Also, he threw her little bracelet into the crater. I’m sorry, but the bracelet would not go DOWN into the pit. It would float off into the atmosphere. I was annoyed by this. But I loved all the real astronaut stuff. The “controversy” about “not seeing” the flag on the moon was completely ridiculous. From the way these idiots ranted and raved, you’d think the film never showed the American flag. But you did see the flag. These people are so ridiculous. I had bigger issues with the film than whether or not we get a “patriotic” moment of watching the flag be planted. Besides, the entire film is filled with “USA” branding – on every wall, on every rocket, on their astronaut suits, the words “USA” and the stars and stripes are literally in almost every scene – because every scene takes place at NASA. I do my best to ignore stupid people, I really do! MY issue was that the bracelet goes DOWN into the crater. Still, it’s well worth seeing, and it’s too late now but you should see it in IMAX.

Burning (2018; d. Lee Chang-dong)
One of my favorite films of the year. I reviewed for Rogerebert.com.

Kindergarten Teacher (2018; d. Sara Colangelo)
I am in love with this movie, and with everything it stands for. By that I mean, it’s a “character study” without being obvious, it’s hugely ambiguous, it’s so well observed you feel “seen” by it, even if you strive to say “I am NOTHING like that woman.” Maggie Gyllenhaal gets her best role in years. This is dark material, nervewracking and uncomfortable. I had to keep pausing scenes because I was so freaked out. It doesn’t “swing for the fences,” it’s not trying to make some big relevant point. (This is such a relief.) It’s just about this woman who is vaguely dissatisfied with her life, who goes swiftly off the deep end when she discovers a 5-year-old in her class composes poetry. It’s really good. Please see it. Please support films like this.

Supernatural Season 14, episode 2 “Gods and Monsters” (2018; d. Richard Speight Jr.)
Mark Pellegrino killllled his big painful scene but it hurt me, because he was given more space, more time, more words, than Sam and Dean have been given to deal with THEIR emotions in the last 3 seasons. The show isn’t interested in Sam and Dean anymore and I just don’t understand.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018; d. Marielle Heller)
Marielle Heller really has the goods. I’ve liked everything she’s done so far. This, about forger/fraudster Lee Israel, starring Melissa McCarthy, is super good. I went with Charley and we both were really rocked by it. Great support staff from Jane Curtin and Richard Grant. Fascinating story.

Into Invisible Light (2018; d. Shelagh Carter)
My friend Shelagh’s new film, doing the festival circuit right now. I’ve interviewed her twice, about her film Passionflower and about her film Before Anything You Say.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018; d. Bryan Singer)
Had some serious issues with this movie. I reviewed for Ebert.

Born Yesterday (1950; d. George Cukor)
It’s been a while. The movie is extremely preachy – which I had forgotten – but William Holden is very attractive and Judy Holliday is a genius. Straight up genius.

Memphis Majic (2018; d. Eddie Bailey)
I was a jury in the Hometowners category at Indie Memphis Film Festival, and so had a LOT of viewing to get through in this particular category, not only features, but shorts and music videos. I saw so much great stuff. This is a feature-length documentary about Memphis “jookin,” which also looks at a lot of the challenges Memphis faces, economically, racially, culturally. Here’s the teaser trailer.

Mikey and Nicky (1976; d. Elaine May)
Criterion is bringing out this masterpiece from Elaine May and I’m so excited because it’s been extremely hard to find. It’s so good. My kind of movie.

Negro Terror: The Voice Of Memphis (2018; d. John Rash)
Another great documentary in the Hometowners features category at Indie Memphis. It’s about a local punk rock band in Memphis called Negro Terror. They performed at the festival, they’re amazing. Here’s the trailer.

A New Leaf (1971; d. Elaine May)
How can I count the ways I love A New Leaf … No matter how many times I’ve seen it, when she gets stuck in her dress on their honeymoon I freakin’ LOSE IT.

Supernatural Season 14, episode 3 “The Scar” (2018; d. Robert Singer)
This was almost too embarrassing to watch. And yet I watched. I’m a masochist.

All of the following films were films I had to watch for Indie Memphis. I was a juror in the Hometowners category (films about Memphis, by Memphis filmmakers), and that included features, music videos, and what were called “Departures” which meant experimental short films. It was so much fun watching all of these!

Sacred Animals (2018; d. Martin Matthews)
This was in the Departures category. Many of these short films are online and are all under 4 minutes long, so I’ll share the Vimeo/Youtube links. It’s so much fun to see what people are up to. Making a short film is as challenging as a full-length – and in many ways more challenging, because you can’t have ANY fat on your story. It’s a different kind of skill and headspace. What was also great was that each short film was totally unique. There was no template. These were not narrative-driven. Sky’s the limit, and that’s a lot of fun.

Bad Dream (2018; d. Graham Uhelski, Brock Howard)
Also in the “Departures” shorts category. There is some legit creepy stuff in this short film. Very well done.

Double Seaweed Deluxe (2018; d. Lloyd Ambrose Jr)
We gave this a special jury mention. When we sat down to deliberate, we clearly knew which Departure short we wanted to choose as a winner, but we couldn’t resist shouting out this one, and our love for it was unanimous. Because it’s amazing.

Dating in 2018 – How Men Communicate (2018; d. Munirah Safiyah Jones)
Another Departures short. This was so funny.

Windows (2018; d. Jason Allen Lee)
Congratulations to the short film we voted Winner in the Departures category! Again, it was unanimous! We loved seeing all the films, but this one stood out to us in its innovative approach, its confident visuals, its style and mood.

A Mediocre Man with a Mission (2018; d. Laura Jean Hocking)
Another Departures short. It had a fun concept and I really liked the woman’s physical work. No link.

And So I Drank (2018; d. David Roseberry)
Another Departures short, based on the words of Charles Bukowski, talking about hiding from the world and its problems through alcohol. A moody tone-poem kind of short film.

Behind The Street (2018; d. Sean Winfrey)
Another Departures short. Sesame Street unplugged, basically.

Waiting: The Van Duren Story (2018; d. Greg Carey and Wade Jackson)
Although this one did not win the Hometowners features, I did love it, and highly recommend it. Keep your eyes peeled for it. I met the directors – we were staying at the same hotel – and I charged right over them to tell them how much I loved their film. Apparently I was the first person who reacted to it (it was making its world premiere in Memphis the following day). They were like, “Okay, we have to get our picture taken with you since you’re our first outside comment and we must commemorate the moment.” I was so drawn into the story and also fell in love with the music. It’s a documentary about a local Memphis musician – who was in Big Star’s orbit – and the film is an attempt to track him – and his music – down. Here’s the trailer:

Three Wives, One Husband (2017)
Why did I subject myself to this short documentary series about the struggles of polygamous families living in caves in the middle of Utah? It was so DEPRESSING.

The Haunting of Hill House, Season 1 (2018)
I Tweeted my main reaction to this entire series which is that Supernatural Season 2, episode 20, did it better, and did it in 41 minutes. There were so many sequences where I could feel what they were going for, the sense of loss and trauma, but it was pushed and overblown, hammered home, and … trite? I’m also slightly surprised at all the “OMG this is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen” reactions. I guess … watch more scary movies? I don’t know. I didn’t find it all that scary, although some of the imagery was quite spooky. There’s one HUGE scare – I screamed at the top of my lungs – but it was a classic “jump scare”, not all that difficult to pull off. I have a lot of issues with this entire series. I wanted to like it! I don’t understand why they co-opted Shirley Jackson’s title. It’s not an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s amazing book. Get your own title. Make up your own shit. Don’t suck in Shirley Jackson fans by USING her work and piggybacking on it. I felt much of the acting was pretty sub-par. Had a conversation on Facebook about this. The style of the series favored long takes, with lots of circular camera moves (again, Supernatural does it better). It’s effective, and quite creepy (when taken in small doses). Because of the long takes, the actors are required to do quite a bit of whole body acting, meaning, no closeups, no cut-aways to their faces … and honestly, not one of them is up to the challenge. They NEEDED closeups, and were completely helpless to convey what they wanted to convey without closeups. It was painful to watch some of it. I felt bad for the actors. Not one of them knows how to walk across a damn room, and because the directors didn’t PROTECT them from their lack of skill we were unfortunate enough to have to watch their lumbering aimless walks across empty rooms. I watched, because there was a certain fascination in the entire thing – AND everyone was talking about it so much – but I was less than impressed. The SET, though, the SET was absolutely superb.

Rukus (2018; d. Brett Hanover)
Congratulations to the winner of the Hometowners feature. It was a unanimous choice. We are all in love with this film, directed by Memphis local Brett Hanover, who is quite a phenom. It’s the kind of film that is impossible to boil down into a thesis statement. I love movies that resist easy classification. Please keep your eyes peeled for this one. It’s fascinating. And unique. Here’s the trailer:

“American Masters”: Mike Nichols (2016; d. Elaine May)
Wonderful. I’m not sure I had seen this, actually. My Elaine May binge led me to this, and it was wonderful to sit in Mike Nichols’ presence for an entire hour. So much good stuff. Also that it was directed by Elaine May makes it even more special.

The Wife (2018; d. Björn Runge)
It’s really kind of silly, and Jonathan Price playing a rough working-class writer with a Brooklyn accent was a stretch … but there’s a GREAT scene in it between Glenn Close and Christian Slater. It’s really well-written and they play it superbly.

Searching for Ingmar Bergman (2018; d. Margarethe von Trotta)
I reviewed this documentary for Rogerebert.com.

Supernatural, Season 7, episode 7 “The Mentalists” (2011; d. Mike Rohl)
This episode is pure comfort food for me. It’s been a rough year, and not enough time for comfort food. I pop this one in and automatically it starts working its magic.

Supernatural, Season 7, episode 20 “The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo” (2012; d. John MacCarthy)
Same with this one. It’s so confident, in moments big and small, so specific (Charlie’s big chalkboard! Her Darth Vader bobble head!), and it cares about the characters. It cares about HER. The dynamic she brought to the Winchester World cannot be overstated. It’s like she enters, and opens a window. I love the Charlie episodes.

Postcards From London (2018; d. Steve McLean)
I just reviewed for Rogerebert.com.

The Long Dumb Road (2018; d. Hannah Fidell)
I just reviewed for Rogerebert.com. I really enjoyed it.

Sun Don’t Shine (2012; d. Amy Seimetz)
Since Amy was going to be at Indie Memphis, I thought I’d take the opportunity to re-watch her amazing feature film debut as a director. Kentucker Audley (who has strong Memphis ties) and Kate Lyn Sheil play a couple on the run, fleeing from what they’ve done through the swamps and playlands of Florida. It’s really really good.