Letterboxd Friday #8

Ruby Moley
Nov 22, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Dec 3, 2024

Published on 11 / 22 / 2024

Guess who went to the movie theater for the first time in months (the last film was Longlegs)! I thought it only fitting for the premiere of a highly-anticipated film. Also, there has been time to kick back with the holiday coming up. I'm going home next week! Yay! I hope everyone is excited about Thanksgiving. Let's get into some reviews, shall we?

Wicked (2024)

Hear me out. I love musicals. Mamma Mia was my first Broadway show in the late 2000s, Phantom of the Opera is my favorite musical of all time, La La Land is my favorite movie of all time, and I own a collectible edition of Moulin Rouge. With my expansive rating collection of movies, I'd say I know what I am talking about. And I hope you, my lovely everyday-ers, have come to realize the care, articulation, and logic I use to evaluate films.

So here it is. I did not like Wicked. Objectively read this review, stepping away from your Wicked-obsessed bias if you have one.

As someone who has never seen Wicked and is an avid movie critic, I was disappointed in this. First off, they gave in to the crutch of splitting the movie into two parts. While die-hard Wicked fans and the woke community, those of who the movie was marketed towards, believe this choice to be okay, any standard moviegoer understands the frustration of this. Out of 20 story pieces, only roughly 2 were resolved in this film, leaving feelings of emptiness and unresolved thoughts by the end. Marvel and other franchises have coined this act of splitting movies, which I argue is for revenue-related purposes. Some franchises kill this game, like Dune, which saw Dune 1 and 2. When Dune 1 ended, you still were satisfied with what you saw, and in addition, were itching for the second one. In Wicked, which mind you, doesn't even have part 1 in the name and all promotional efforts highlighted both witches equally, you are left confused. Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, gets no magical powers in this. You would expect within a 2 hour 40-minute runtime, only 20 minutes short of Oppenheimer's length, you would get more of both witches or of anything. Rather, the length is filled with drawn-out songs, shots, and overall scenes that you are confused as to why they made it to the final production (i.e. the scene with Elphaba and Fiyero and the lion cub in the woods, nothing came out of this long scene and the weird solo after it).

Also relevant to mention, the singers would randomly riff, and it caught me off guard. While there is a time and place to add a riff, too much of so makes one lose grasp of the story. When they would riff, I'd get back to the realization that I was watching a children's musical.

On a good note, the costumes were immaculate. Ariana can really sing! Also the set, at times, was impressive, as most of it was practical effects. I loved Munchkin Town and other homages to the original Wizard of Oz.

I am not a musical hater, and I gave this movie my patience. I sat through the entire screening and paid attention. Wicked was too long, lacked substance, and coped out from good story writing to break this film into two, unnecessary parts.

Rating:

1.5 stars

Submarine (2010)

I was scrolling about Hulu when the cover of this film jumped out at me. I had a realization, I had listened to Alex Turner's work towards this movie's soundtrack! If you are unfamiliar, Turner is the genius behind the bands "Arctic Monkeys" and "The Last Shadow Puppets." Turner wrote and recorded the EP for Submarine, and it was life-changing.

The film has many unique aspects, like its directional shots that mimic Scott Pilgrim with word overlays, sound effects, and diverse shot ranges. The film is broken into 3 parts, each representing turning points for the main character. The storyline is complex, featuring infidelity, family trouble, love, death, weird neighbors, bullying, and teen romance. It weaves all these elements into a captivating story that you cannot predict.

Turner's soundtrack elevates the already indie film into an unreal experience. My only critique is the beginning was so powerful that the middle felt lackluster. Luckily, the end pulled through and brought it right back up.

This film stands in a category alone with how unique it was. If you like awkward main characters, SFX to hyperbolize, and the Arctic Monkeys, give this film a spin.

Rating:

3.5 stars

Secretary (2002)

I'm sorry but there is something AMAZING about this movie. Let me first say that I was under the impression that this movie was the original 50 Shades of Grey, especially with the main characters from both films sharing the name of "Grey." What I ended up realizing was this was 1000x better. Screw the cheesy romance arcs of 50 Shades, this clears it by a mile.

What Secretary did best was highlighting the frustration the secretary Lee Holloway, played perfectly by Maggie Gyllenhaal, endures when neglected by her boss Mr. Grey, portrayed by James Spader. Her pain and suffering is palpable and plays beautifully into the ending. Holloway even undergoes a hunger strike for Mr. Grey, showing the extremes of their relationship. There is fighting, raw emotion, and aggressive sexual allusions. It is a powerful film that feels realistic but is also far from it.

Secretary's only big critique was how straightforward it was with self-harm. It was blunt and triggering, which might just be reflective of the lack of censorship at the time of its production. If it were made now, I could surely see some backlash. But besides this point, I was holding my breath in anticipation of this movie, and I think you will, too.

Rating:

4 stars