Films That I Saw: June 2018

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

-Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus 1883

The words that is on the bronze plaque inside the Statue of Liberty that was erected in 1903 was a call for those wanting a new life and a chance to live a good life in this new land was a beacon of hope for many who call themselves immigrants. As the child of an immigrant, it means something to myself and to my parents as they’re immigrants themselves and have managed to make a decent life for themselves. Now it’s more than 100 years since those words have been erected and it no longer means a fucking thing to this inhuman, vile piece of shit in the White House who has committed sin after sin more than a year since he stepped office and the image on TIME magazine says it all about what America has become.

Yet, there’s more to this growing sense of Fascism that has emerged in America where it’s not just about children being separated from their parents who have crossed the border for asylum and shelter. It’s also the press that is now being silent for wanting to tell the truth. What happened a few days ago in Annapolis is an example of this new emergence of Fascist America. A world where if you don’t say anything good about our leader and demand answers from him that he refuses to answer. You’re going to get fucking shot and killed. It does feel like a world is falling apart and it’s hard to try and escape knowing that there’s so much shit going on while some asshole on TV goes “whomp-whomp” over a crying child which angered another person that was talking about what is happening. If it had been me in that room with that asshole, I’d deck him and make sure he doesn’t get up.

This is another crazy month as there’s more family drama with my relatives trying to scheme one another as I’m just glad I have no involvement with them. Aside from watching films and re-listening to the entire NIN discography as part of my marathon while getting familiar with the new album (review coming in August, hopefully). I’ve been spending much of the past few weeks watching the World Cup. I know it’s in Russia and it is strange seeing how beautiful it is knowing that it’s corrupt yet you’re distracted by what is happening in the soccer field. It’s been an exciting World Cup so far as there’s been a lot of good teams and such while the teams I’m rooting for just as the round of 16 has just started as I’m rooting for England, Brazil, Uruguay, and Mexico. I also hope someone knocks out Portugal. I’m sad that Lionel Messi won’t get that chance to be the best to get the World Cup trophy but I’m happy that Cristiano Ronaldo won’t get it either as I think Ronaldo is an overrated piece of shit who only cares about himself.

In the month of June 2018, I saw a total of 28 films 15 first-timers and 13 re-watches with one film directed by a woman as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. Definitely a downer this month due to the World Cup as I spent more time watching soccer than watching films. Still, I needed some time away from it every once in a while as the highlights of the month are definitely my Blind Spots for this month in Jan Troell’s The Emigrants and The New Land. Here are my top 10 first-timers that I saw for June 2018:

1. Tokyo Drifter

2. Bao

3. I fidanzati

4. Lady Macbeth

5. Incredibles 2

6. Brewster McCloud

7. How to Talk to Girls at Parties

8. Dior: Lady Grey London

9. Dior: L.A.dy Dior

10. Dior: Dior Homme Sport

Monthly Mini-Reviews

How to Be a Latin Lover

This had been on ePIX for months as I first parts of it in February as the first scene that involved a man crashing into his house with his big truck and then the trucking blowing up made me laugh hard as I accidentally spat out my own food. It’s a film that never takes itself seriously as it’s managed to make me laugh as I really think Eugenio Derbez is a really funny guy when he’s left to his own devices and not be seen in Adam Sandler films. Especially as he plays someone that is forced to endure some humility as well as prove that there is good in him despite the fact that he’s selfish at times. Derbez’s scenes with Salma Hayek as his younger sister are gold in the way they talk to each other in Spanish as they just have a natural chemistry in their approach to comedy as I think it’s a film that doesn’t deserve the scorn it gets from critics. After all, it made my parents laugh so I think it did what it needed to do.

Barefoot

Another film that hasn’t been a favorite with the critics though I could see why as it is a flawed film. Yet, I was engaged by it as it is about this playboy from a rich family who works as a janitor at a mental hospital who takes this sheltered patient to his family as his date to his brother’s wedding. What makes the film so compelling is Evan Rachel Wood's performance as this mental patient who has lived a sheltered life and hasn't experienced much of the outside world as she is a joy to watch as it's an underrated performance that has a lot to offer.

Top 10 Re-Watches:

1. Room

2. National Lampoon's Vacation

3. Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

4. The Princess and the Frog

5. Star Trek

6. The Jane Austen Book Club

7. Mr. Mom

8. Lost River

9. The Prince of Tides

10. Yankee Doodle Daffy

Well, that is it for June. In July, I’m definitely going to focus largely on American films including westerns and some crime films based on the never-ending DVR list that include films by Michael Mann and John Ford. The only theatrical release I’m interesting in seeing is Ant-Man and the Wasp as I can’t think of anything else other than watching a couple of films by James Gray for the Auteurs piece on him. Other than Gray, my next Blind Spot, and the NIN marathon that I’m currently doing. That’s all that is happening for July. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing of…

© thevoid99 2018