WARFARE Review
FREAKY TALES Review
Neither Anna Boden nor Ryan Fleck, the writers and directors
of Freaky Tales, hail from the Oakland area where their
latest feature is set but Fleck grew-up in Berkeley and was eleven years-old in
1987 - when the film is set - indicating this is more a passion project for
Fleck and something more akin to a challenge or an insight for Boden.
Fittingly, the dynamic between the filmmakers - the homecourt advantage for
Fleck and visitor status of Boden - is imbued in the final project as Freaky
Tales fittingly straddles the line between being an underdog tale
while understanding domination is the more appealing perception in the real
world. Still, when it comes to the stories - or excuse me, tales - the
underdogs continue to stand as the more inspiring option with this line of
thought being present from the opening scroll of Boden and Fleck's latest.
Narrated by Too $hort with the film itself taking its title
from the MC's 1989 track, we're told that Oakland in '87 was "hella
wild"; the people, the culture, the music - it didn't matter - the
descriptor applied to all. $hort also informs us the reason for everything
feeling so fresh likely had something to do with a "bright green
glow" that felt akin to an electricity in the air but clarifies said
glowing green was not the same color as the city's "underdog A's
uniforms". What the "bright green glow" might symbolize or
represent is of course up to interpretation and will likely vary based on age and
relation to the time and place at the heart of the film but broadly, it's meant
to be something of a vibe incarnate; an embodiment of the attitude of Oakland
at the time that lends each of the characters in each of the featured vignettes
the swag necessary to convince us there's something a tad atypical or
"freaky" about these tales that are otherwise as old as time.
BETTER MAN Review
The facet that actually separates Better Man from the current crop of musical biopics is the fact Williams himself couldn't give less of a shit about PR. That is to say, the man has no issue showing you his scars or telling you how he feels about those that surrounded him. Getting this kind of unfiltered access and perspective feels more and more rare these days when the majority of musical documentaries are more or less controlled and therefore extremely filtered pieces of marketing material for their subjects. Luckily, a puff piece is not what neither Williams nor director Michael Gracey were interested in. As these things always go, it begins with wanting to make a father proud because of the lack of attention said father paid to their child while still on their own quest for fame and fortune. This neglect enables the kind of imposter syndrome Williams suffers from throughout the film and likely still to this day even with all of the awards and accomplishments, propping up the drive that has ultimately placed him in a position to command his own musical biopic despite what some might consider proper talent.
TOP 10 OF 2024
After 2023, I wasn't sure what the future of my role in "film criticism" would be or if there would be one at all. After the dissolution of my YouTube channel in May of last year and trying to find my footing so far as how often I would go long in writing about films it has more or less organically become a pattern of logging my viewing habits on Letterboxd and if a film comes to evoke a certain type of response that either has me wanting to process my reaction further or simply discuss it at length, then it typically ends up on this site. This happened less than I would have liked this year, but to be completely frank it may happen even less in the upcoming year and not because I’m pessimistic about the new year’s slate of films (I’m actually quite hopeful for what '25 might bring) but simply because my wife and I are welcoming our fourth child in a matter of weeks and I don’t know that I’ll be able to sustain my weekly theater visits. That said, I’ll be at home and even on paternity leave for some portions of the year, so I don’t plan on seeing fewer movies just seeing fewer movies at the multiplex - potentially. Speaking of this year I watched 172 2024 releases, 93 of which were on the big screen and some of them - including Deadpool & Wolverine, Dune: Part Two, Alien: Romulus, Joker: Folie à Deux, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and The First Omen - I saw twice in theaters. I watched upwards of 250 films total over the course of the year including re-watches and older films I experienced for the first time. Essentially, I have no idea what 2025 will look like in terms of what or how often I will post here as I also plan on doing a good amount of offline writing, but one thing I can say with certainty is that if I'm still here in a year’s time you can count on me to post my favorite films of 2025. But first! My ten favorite films of 2024…