MOVIE DIARY 2018: THAT’S ALL YOU GOT, LADY– TWO WRONG FEET IN FUCKING UGLY SHOES
Ah yes, the last MOVIE DIARY 2018 entry of the fiscal quarter (Q1). I hope it’s been profitable for you. No special guest this time, this is all me, baby.
Casino (1995)
This is probably going to prove to be unpopular, but I didn’t much care for Casino. I think I appreciated what it was going for, a sweeping rise and fall crime story exploring the lives of two very different kinds of mafia men in the backdrop of old Las Vegas, but we get kind of the same beats five years earlier in Goodfellas (1995). I guess the main differences are the old Vegas setting (fine, very much into the aesthetic), swapping out Ray Liotta with Sharon Stone (honestly pretty disappointed that Sharon Stone didn’t have more to do in this movie besides fall apart entirely in a very “Trusting women? Idk about that, dog” kind of way), and switching out the darkly comic moments for a self-seriousness that, for me, failed to entertain or provoke any meaningful emotional response.
I wanted to like this movie more than I did, and I feel like on paper this seems like something I’d be into, but it just didn’t work for me. I don’t know if it’s unfair to compare it to Goodfellas, but it’s another Scorsese movie about the mob and it stars Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci so… yeah I’m going to compare it to Goodfellas, a Scorsese movie about the mob that stars Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci. Goodfellas just has an energy about it that feels playful and violent and most of all unpredictable. Casino feels very deliberate and measured, but it lacks that momentum that Goodfellas carries so effortlessly. I don’t know. At the end of it, where are we, really? Both of these movies are Scorsese classics and I’m just another film bro comparing Scorsese movies on the internet, what a cool life I’ve chosen.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
ERIN BROCKOVICH! I WATCHED THIS MOVIE ON A PLANE! THIS MOVIE RULES!
What a treat to just see Julia Roberts, an actor I had no strong feelings about one way or the other, just dominating her way through this movie and shutting me up. Everyone is good in this movie! I loved that bit that Albert Finney has where he’s yelling at erin about how he’s been putting in the work for years and he’s survived a quadruple bypass so he deserves to want to take it easy, then there’s that part where he’s addressing the town meeting and he gets everyone to think about the collective good of the community, fuck yeah, Albert Finney rules too! And Aaron Eckhart! He’s very good, but I will be honest, rough around the edges biker with a tender heart is not really a good look on Aaron Eckhart (lol that mustache), plus that scene where he’s hanging on to Erin’s kids and some gang of bikers loudly drives past him and he stares off wistfully was pretty heavy handed and, uh, kind of, uh… sucked, but the rest of it was good, it was genuinely sweet and compelling to watch him fall in love and try to be her rock and then figure out he couldn’t be what she needed.
But man, back to Julia Roberts. She’s great in this movie! One of my favorite things that happens in movies is when you see someone just doing work and being good at their job. One of the things that this movie stresses is how at the end of the day, it isn’t some hidden talent or knowledge that Erin possesses that helps her win — it’s that she goes out there and does the fucking work every day and she sticks to it no matter what. Maybe it’s coming from a bias of where I’m at with my life personally right now or where we are as *straining to fight back tears of strength* a country *deep exhale* right now, but the idea of someone doing her best with what little she has to fight against a giant corporation for the good of the people is so inspiring and heroic. I also love that the entire time you’re rooting for Erin, but the movie does a very good job of instilling this nagging sense of dread that everything is going to fall apart. Everything feels so tenuous and desperate as a viewer, and Erin, despite her characteristic bluster, does have to acknowledge that she’s balancing on a very fine line, but she navigates it confidently and she never doubts that she’s doing the right thing, which makes it feel like you’re watching this superwoman power her way to the finish despite everyone’s knowledge that not even just the litigious forces of a giant corporation, but also just everyday life (like not being able to get a baby sitter) could throw the whole outcome in doubt. What a fucking hero.
THE MOVIE DIARY 2018 QUARTERLY REPORT
Thank you as always for your support, especially during this first fiscal quarter of MOVIE DIARY 2018. I’ve to date watched 40 movies, only 9 of which were rewatches. Of the 40 movies seen, only 5 were 2018 releases, but I hope to increase those numbers in the coming quarter as blockbuster season seems to come earlier and earlier every year. I’ve got more special guests lined up for Q2, and I’m excited to see what they bring to the table. Financially Q1’s profit margin of $0 could be described as lacking, but given the intangibles of blogging, you could also see it as $0 in losses, with the added unquantifiable profits of positive reception and word of mouth for a new writing series. Once again, thank you for supporting MOVIE DIARY 2018. Here’s to a profitable Q2!
— Geoffrey