Films That I Saw: January 2022

 

Well, this year has gotten off to a shitty-ass start with some notable deaths in Sidney Poitier, Meat Loaf, Peter Bogdanovich, Bob Saget, Gaspard Ulliel, Jean-Jacques Beiniex, Yvette Mimieux, Hardy Kruger, Louie Anderson, Howard Hesseman, and so much more. It feels like there is a culture in the world of film, music, and comedy that is just going away as this is something I’m now starting to get used to but I’m not happy about it. Yet, I’m more upset that someone like Ulliel died at the age of 37 from a skiing accident and was about to be part of something much bigger in his upcoming role in the MCU TV series Moon Knight. Yet, I’m also aware that COVID is still happening and more stupid people have emerged over these anti-vaccination rhetoric including Joe Rogan who is a fucking cunt. Spouting all sorts of misinformation and bullshit about what is happening is just wrong and I’m glad that Neil Young and Joni Mitchell chose to pull their music from Spotify because they don’t want to associate themselves with that bullshit. I was using Spotify for a while but I still prefer iTunes as I ended up deleting Spotify as I was more annoyed by its ads and didn’t want to pay money to a service that supports bullshit.

In the month of January 2022, I saw a total of 28 films in 14 first-timers and 14 re-watches with 3 of those first-timers being films directed by women as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. Not a bad start despite dealing with the flu for a few weeks as I’m still dealing with a cough at the moment. The big highlight of the month has been my Blind Spot Series choice in Bringing Up Baby. Here are my top 5 films of January 2022:

1. The Power of the Dog

2. Licorice Pizza

3. Nightmare Alley

4. No Time to Die

5. Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience

Monthly Mini-Reviews/What Else I’ve Been Watching

Far from the Tree

A short film I watched on Disney+ as it had accompanied Encanto during its theatrical run is a compelling short film about a baby raccoon looking into the sea with its parent trying to stop him from getting in trouble. It is an effective and touching short film that plays into this young raccoon and this moment that would repeat itself when he has to care for a young raccoon. It is a film that is like a silent film but it proves that images and sound can still create a story that says a lot by saying little.

The Super Bob Einstein Movie

For anyone who was a child of the 70s/80s probably knew who Bob Einstein was as the ill-fated stuntman Super Dave Osborne. Yet, people also know him for his role as Marty Funkhouser in Curb Your Enthusiasm. Still, Bob Einstein who is really the older brother of Albert Brooks is a hilarious figure who not only mastered the art of playing it straight but also knew how to push people’s buttons. It is a hilarious and witty documentary film that features Einstein’s final interview years before his death in 2019 as it shows him as a man who was also quite complex and rarely showcased anything in his private life. Featuring interviews with Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Kimmel, and many others who worked with him, it is a documentary that fans of comedy should see as well as getting to realize the influence Einstein had in the world of hip-hop.

Syd Barrett: Under Review





From the Amplified YouTube page of documentaries about music and the artists who made them is this film from the 1990s about the co-founder of the art rock band Pink Floyd. It does tell the story about Barrett and his time in the band only to be out of the group due to his erratic behavior involving LSD which led to a solo career with 2 studio albums released in 1970 that were produced by members of Pink Floyd including his replacement in David Gilmour. It is a film that is interesting but also boring at times since it never said anything new other documentaries about Floyd and Barrett that had come out in the 2000s and so-on have done which were far richer in their tone as well as said a lot into the band’s history.

Nimic

A short film from Yorgos Lanthimos that I watched on MUBI is this inventive short film about identity starring Matt Dillon as a professional cellist who meets this woman who mimics his movements and eventually takes over his life. It is a totally engaging and stylish short film that is one of many good reasons to have MUBI as it is a streaming service that anyone who wants to see different films from other parts of the world should see.

HAIM/Valentine





One of two musical short performances directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this 14-minute short is a studio performance from Haim playing three songs from their second album in 2017 is definitely engaging. Notably in the fact that Anderson had filmed several music videos for the sister-trio and does this short for them as there is something enthralling in the way he films them as if it’s in a studio with some banter in between. It is something that newer fans of the group should seek out as they’re a good band.

Anima

The second short film by P.T. Anderson revolves another staple of music acts he collaborates in Radiohead as he’s worked frequently with guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood who does a lot of score music for Anderson. For Radiohead vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Thom Yorke is a performance project for Yorke’s own solo record through a few songs yet they’re performed through dance where Yorke plays a man in a dystopian world as he is trying to return a lunch box to a woman who accidentally left it. It is something fans of both Anderson and Yorke must see as it is a damn good reason to have Netflix.

Why You’ve Never Met the 4th Haim Sister





From Funny or Die is a short film that is about the 4th Haim sister who is played by none other than Brie Larson in Frime Haim as she gets a visit from her sisters as she asks if she can join the band. It is a hilarious short that has Larson being crazy while Haim are reluctant about seeing her as they feel like she’s not talented enough to be in the band. It is something for fans of Haim should see while also proof that Brie Larson is one of the best actresses working today.

The Book of Boba Fett (episodes 2-5)

The show from Disney+ so far is just incredible in not just exploring more of what happened to Boba Fett following the events of Return of the Jedi in which he would befriend the Sand People and become part of their tribe but also in being a new crime boss in Tattooine where things are going wrong. Even as there’s political forces and such who want to bring trouble to Fett and Tattooine as the most recent episode saw the return of the Mandalorian who goes to Tattooine about a new ship where he is asked to help Boba.

Wrestling Match of the Month: Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed TNT Championship Ladder Match-January 26, 2022 episode of AEW Dynamite-Beach Break





This is a new thing I’m planning to do as it relates to professional wrestling as I want to make notes on the good and the bad of professional wrestling. So far, there’s been some good stuff including Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Adam Page for the AEW World Championship earlier this month that saw Page retained his championship as the former is about to go into a program with the returning Jon Moxley. I haven’t been able to see anything from New Japan Pro Wrestling including the matches at WrestleKingdom other than clips as I’m eager to see the matches from Kazuchika Okada as well as the match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and KENTA for the IWGP U.S. Championship. Along with things happening in GCW, Impact, and the NWA as things are going really well including wrestling fans telling former ECW wrestling legend Bully Ray to fuck off following some awful comments he made about Jon Moxley’s return as I hope Charles Barkley beats the living fuck out of that fat piece of shit.

The best match I saw this month was from AEW for the TNT championship as there was supposed to be a rematch between the champion Cody Rhodes and the man he beat in Sammy Guevara for the Battle of the Belts special. Unfortunately, Rhodes was hit with COVID and had to sit out the event forcing AEW to create an interim championship that Guevara won in a match against Rhodes’ older brother Dustin in a damn good match. This match on the most recent episode of Dynamite is definitely something wrestling fans need to see. Notably the spot in which Guevara leapt on a ladder and onto another to give Cody this cutter as it was something I had never seen. There’s been some great ladder matches but this one just raised the bar a bit as it showed some unique ideas of Cody is going with his character as a heel who thinks he’s a babyface while Guevara’s win not only makes him one of the key stars of the company but also someone who is among the young new stars who is already becoming established.

Top 10 Re-Watches

1. Nights of Cabiria

2. Toy Story

3. Iron Man

4. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

5. Frozen

6. Luca

7. Ant Man and the Wasp

8. When Nirvana Came to Britain

9. The Three Caballeros

10. Robin Hood

Well, that is all for January 2022. I’m not sure what I will do next month aside from the Blind Spot Series as I’ve become disenchanted with the idea of the DVR as I barely have time to watch films from my DVR and that it records things that ended up not recording anything. It’s become annoying at this point as it’s now making the argument of wanting to get rid of cable altogether as I have other things to do in the many lists of my watchlist I can do. As for theatrical releases, I’m not sure. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2022