“You think you’re watching a gender-reversed Wake In Fright or Straw Dogs”
Aaaaand you got me, just like that. We need the gender-reversed version of movies like these more than we need the Ocean’s 8 kind that we typically get.
I haven’t really watched Christopher Abbott, but Possessor is now on my must-watch list after really enjoying (if that’s the right word) Infinity Pool a few weeks ago. Going to move that one up in the queue.
What does a person outside the industry need to do to get their hands on this box? I was completely unfamiliar with Neon until the recent Oldboy 4K release and I have to say, the set they put out for that is gorgeous and unique.
Keith points out to me that Abbott is 37-years-old, so I guess he's a young actor only relative to me. But I urge you to see him in JAMES WHITE. Total devastation.
Of the ones I haven’t watched yet, EILEEN is the one that intrigues me the most. Hopefully, the Oscar nominations for PERFECT DAYS and ROBOT DREAMS will inspire NEON to get those out sooner rather than later.
For me, Eileen was 2/3 great, 1/3 not so great...I think either the third act works for you or it doesn't, at least that's what various reactions seem to be.
Nice list, although I'd swap positions for INFINITY POOL and ENYS MEN. In general I think Neon is doing everything that people seem to think A24 is doing (and far better). Where's all the Neon meme content?!
I love both companies, though Neon is more tightly curated. Highlights from A24 in 2023: THE ZONE OF INTEREST, SHOWING UP, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, BEAU IS AFRAID, PAST LIVES, THE IRON CLAW, PRISCILLA. Pretty damn good.
Awww I saw La Chimera at AFI Fest and loved it, Scott. The ending lingered with me for quite a bit. Really hope Neon give it a push so more people go see it.
I like it, too, though that was definitely one I feel some people will really *love* if it hits them the right way. It's beautifully done. I just don't quite vibe with it as much as I'd hoped.
I was hesitant about Infinity Pool because of its ickiness, but was thrilled to find it's sharp, blackly funny and has the added advantage of Mia Goth turning it up to 11, snapping off the knob and lighting the amp on fire.
I'd say the '23 Neon slate is about even with '22, stronger than '17, '18, '20, and weaker than '21 (The Worst Person in the World, Memoria, Petite Maman, Titane, Pig) and '19 (Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Beach Bum, Apollo 11). Unseen: Robot Dreams, Origin, It Lives Inside
1. Perfect Days - My fav Wenders in 36 years. Beautiful quotidian portraiture. Yakusho is great. (Tokyo really does have the best public restrooms that I've encountered while traveling.)
2. How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Taut, smart procedural thriller with a political conscience. Love the editing and score.
3. Anatomy of a Fall - Riveting courtroom mystery-drama with an excellent Hüller. Love how Triet reveals narrative info through unreliable channels.
4. The Royal Hotel - I agree the restraint of it is unexpected and really effective. A simmering thriller of microaggressions.
5. Infinity Pool - I prefer Possessor (Neon Class of '20!), but it's a brazen sci-fi nightmare about social strata with absurdist undertones that brought to mind Kafka and Camus.
6. Eileen - A bit slight, but it works as a queer-adjacent neo-noir with playful protagonist subjectivity and a fun femme fatale Hathaway.
7. La Chimera - Reminded me of Fellini, too. I'm not the biggest Rohrwacher fan, but it's a charming picaresque tale with a dose of magic realism.
8. Ferrari - Contains elements of many great Mann films but imo lacks sufficient dramatic tension at its core. Some questionable casting decisions (Cruz innocent).
9. Enys Men - I like it, it's formally arresting, but I wanted... a little more? I'm sure I've underrated it; will revisit.
10. Sanctuary - I agree it feels like an exercise in cinematic gamesmanship. I am not sold on the Qualley performance.
Aside: I find Neon's release strategy for year-end films quite annoying. Perfect Days, La Chimera, and Robot Dreams have yet to be released beyond one-week Oscar-qualifying runs, and Origin only opened a week ago. Odd to think of these as 2023 films when they are held until 2024 for general release. Aggravating from a moviegoer perspective even if it's a savvy business plan.
What I think is perfectly emblematic of the times we’re living in is that a fictional film entitled “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” has received more press in the U.S. than Seymour Hersh’s historically-significant 2/8/2023 Substack article “How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline.” Here we have a legendary investigative journalist implicating the Biden administration in sabotaging massive energy infrastructure that has crippled Germany’s economy, and virtually no one wanted to report on it outside of independent media. That’s a coverup, my friends! The movie is probably just a well-made psyop, so skip it and read Hersh’s article if you haven’t already. It’s free for everyone!
“You think you’re watching a gender-reversed Wake In Fright or Straw Dogs”
Aaaaand you got me, just like that. We need the gender-reversed version of movies like these more than we need the Ocean’s 8 kind that we typically get.
I haven’t really watched Christopher Abbott, but Possessor is now on my must-watch list after really enjoying (if that’s the right word) Infinity Pool a few weeks ago. Going to move that one up in the queue.
What does a person outside the industry need to do to get their hands on this box? I was completely unfamiliar with Neon until the recent Oldboy 4K release and I have to say, the set they put out for that is gorgeous and unique.
Keith points out to me that Abbott is 37-years-old, so I guess he's a young actor only relative to me. But I urge you to see him in JAMES WHITE. Total devastation.
And how good was Cynthia Nixon in James White? One of my favorite mother-son movies ever.
Outstanding. Amazing in Terence Davies’ Dickinson film too.
Of the ones I haven’t watched yet, EILEEN is the one that intrigues me the most. Hopefully, the Oscar nominations for PERFECT DAYS and ROBOT DREAMS will inspire NEON to get those out sooner rather than later.
EILEEN is really worth your time and try to read as little about its plot first.
I only know what was in the trailer, which I saw several times in the space of a few months.
For me, Eileen was 2/3 great, 1/3 not so great...I think either the third act works for you or it doesn't, at least that's what various reactions seem to be.
Nice list, although I'd swap positions for INFINITY POOL and ENYS MEN. In general I think Neon is doing everything that people seem to think A24 is doing (and far better). Where's all the Neon meme content?!
I love both companies, though Neon is more tightly curated. Highlights from A24 in 2023: THE ZONE OF INTEREST, SHOWING UP, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, BEAU IS AFRAID, PAST LIVES, THE IRON CLAW, PRISCILLA. Pretty damn good.
Awww I saw La Chimera at AFI Fest and loved it, Scott. The ending lingered with me for quite a bit. Really hope Neon give it a push so more people go see it.
I like it, too, though that was definitely one I feel some people will really *love* if it hits them the right way. It's beautifully done. I just don't quite vibe with it as much as I'd hoped.
I was hesitant about Infinity Pool because of its ickiness, but was thrilled to find it's sharp, blackly funny and has the added advantage of Mia Goth turning it up to 11, snapping off the knob and lighting the amp on fire.
She will go places other actors fear to go, that's for sure. Eager to see what she does in the wrap-up to her Ti West trilogy this year.
I'd say the '23 Neon slate is about even with '22, stronger than '17, '18, '20, and weaker than '21 (The Worst Person in the World, Memoria, Petite Maman, Titane, Pig) and '19 (Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Beach Bum, Apollo 11). Unseen: Robot Dreams, Origin, It Lives Inside
1. Perfect Days - My fav Wenders in 36 years. Beautiful quotidian portraiture. Yakusho is great. (Tokyo really does have the best public restrooms that I've encountered while traveling.)
2. How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Taut, smart procedural thriller with a political conscience. Love the editing and score.
3. Anatomy of a Fall - Riveting courtroom mystery-drama with an excellent Hüller. Love how Triet reveals narrative info through unreliable channels.
4. The Royal Hotel - I agree the restraint of it is unexpected and really effective. A simmering thriller of microaggressions.
5. Infinity Pool - I prefer Possessor (Neon Class of '20!), but it's a brazen sci-fi nightmare about social strata with absurdist undertones that brought to mind Kafka and Camus.
6. Eileen - A bit slight, but it works as a queer-adjacent neo-noir with playful protagonist subjectivity and a fun femme fatale Hathaway.
7. La Chimera - Reminded me of Fellini, too. I'm not the biggest Rohrwacher fan, but it's a charming picaresque tale with a dose of magic realism.
8. Ferrari - Contains elements of many great Mann films but imo lacks sufficient dramatic tension at its core. Some questionable casting decisions (Cruz innocent).
9. Enys Men - I like it, it's formally arresting, but I wanted... a little more? I'm sure I've underrated it; will revisit.
10. Sanctuary - I agree it feels like an exercise in cinematic gamesmanship. I am not sold on the Qualley performance.
Aside: I find Neon's release strategy for year-end films quite annoying. Perfect Days, La Chimera, and Robot Dreams have yet to be released beyond one-week Oscar-qualifying runs, and Origin only opened a week ago. Odd to think of these as 2023 films when they are held until 2024 for general release. Aggravating from a moviegoer perspective even if it's a savvy business plan.
I really enjoyed Sanctuary, it felt like a more "erotic thriller" version of Phantom Thread.
What I think is perfectly emblematic of the times we’re living in is that a fictional film entitled “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” has received more press in the U.S. than Seymour Hersh’s historically-significant 2/8/2023 Substack article “How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline.” Here we have a legendary investigative journalist implicating the Biden administration in sabotaging massive energy infrastructure that has crippled Germany’s economy, and virtually no one wanted to report on it outside of independent media. That’s a coverup, my friends! The movie is probably just a well-made psyop, so skip it and read Hersh’s article if you haven’t already. It’s free for everyone!