What I Watched This Week #174 (Apr 28-May 4)
The Last Showgirl
dir. Gia Coppola/2024/1h29m
This gentle drama stars Pamela Anderson in the lead role of Shelley, the fading star of a Las Vegas revue that will be closing soon due to dwindling audience members. She is also trying to reforge a relationship with her estranged daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd). This is a very quiet film that stays clear of melodrama and that makes the characters much more rounded as a result. Anderson gives an excellent performance in the lead, easily the best of her career (as much as I enjoy the insane Casablanca remake Barb Wire), and it reminded me a lot of Marilyn Monroe's performance in her final film The Misfits as a woman dealing with aging in a world that finds the idea of beautiful women getting old offensive and where her place in that world actually is. They both remain positive but there's always a hint of melancholy. There's also great support from Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelley's cocktail waitress best friend Annette and Dave Bautista as the show's stage manager Eddie. The direction, by Francis's granddaughter Gia Coppola, is decent but the constant use of bokeh - a very stylised use of focus that gives a dreamy feel - got distracting after a while, though it does convey that Shelley is still living in a dreamland. 8.5/10
Havoc
dir. Gareth Evans/2025/1h47m
Tom Hardy stars as a gruff cop trying to stop a gang war when the mayor's son is framed for killing some Triads I think, it's all very convoluted in a way that's trying to emulate classic noir films (as is Hardy's voiceover) but none of it is particularly interesting. This is from the same director as The Raid and its sequel so the action scenes are capably handled and each feel distinct from the other, but aside from that this is the definition of content churned out for Netflix put on their front page for a week or so. As good as Hardy is as an actor he just has nothing to really work with here. I couldn't tell you his name with a gun pointed to my head, my best guess would John Q. Havoc generic as he is. There are some familiar faces in the supporting cast, with Forest Whitaker playing the mayor, Timothy Olyphant as a corrupt cop, and Luis Guzman whose character I don't really remember, but I like Luis Guzman, so that's a net positive in that department I guess. If you're looking for some background noise to not really pay attention to then this is the film for you, not bad, but not much of anything else either. 5/10
Farewell, My Lovely (Murder, My Sweet)
dir. Edward Dmytryk/1944/1h35m
This adaptation of Raymond Chandler's noir novel, the second book to feature legendary private detective Philip Marlowe, sees d*ck Powell take on the role and get caught up in a convoluted plot kicked off by getting hired by an ex-con to track down his former girlfriend. This is the second adaptation of this story I've seen, and I do prefer the later version starring Robert Mitchum in the role of Marlowe, his appearance suiting it more, almost matching the crumpled suit he's been sleeping in for several days. Elliot Gould also played the role very well in The Long Goodbye. But none can match up to Humphry Bogart, iconic in The Big Sleep, which was released only a few years later. None of this is Powell's fault obviously, his performance is the earliest out of them all, but I couldn't help but compare him to all of the other Marlowe's I've seen, and I have to say his is the weakest. Not that he's bad, he just doesn't compare favourably. As for the film, it's just like Powell. Not bad, but not as good as what came later. The highlight of the film is Claire Trevor's performance as the femme fatale of the piece, Helen Grayle. If you've not seen any Raymond Chandler adaptations then maybe start with this one, as it will make all of the others even more enjoyable. 7/10
Manivald
dir. Chintis Lundgren/2017/13m
This animated short is another set in Estonian director Chintis Lundgren's world of anthropomorphic animals exploring their sexualities. This story is about a fox called Manivald (Trevor Boris), a talented musician still living at home with his mother (France Castel). When their washing machine breaks down they call in a repairman, the s*xy wolf Toomas (Drasko Ivezic) - star of another Lundgren film, Toomas Beneath the Valley of the Wild Wolves - who soon starts relationships with both of them. I really like Lundgren's very simple style and limited colour palette, it gives me nostalgic vibes for Nickelodeon cartoons I watched as a child like Doug and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. Obviously the content is much more adult, with this film having a very mature take on s*xual relationships. The fact that it's bizarre and quirky looking animals instead of people makes the message have even more impact. 8/10
F9
dir. Justin Lin/2021/2h23m
When I first started watching the Fast and Furious franchise back in January it was all because I heard that they actually travel to space in one of the later films and I just had to see that, but being a completionist I had to start at the beginning when they were just street racers stealing DVD players. And now the time has come, and it was just as glorious as I had hoped it would be. When Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris blasted off into space in a car with a rocket strapped to its roof and then proceeded to drive it through a spy satellite in order to destroy it I could not stop smiling. It's so gloriously stupid and over the top and I loved it. There are even moments when Gibson's character, Roman, almost becomes self aware, commenting on how it's ridiculous how they do all of this secret agent stuff with no training and experience and never die, or even get a scratch. If he had looked right into the camera at that moment I would have stood up and clapped. For a second there I thought the film would become some meta commentary on action films. It doesn't, but the fact that I even thought that could be a possibility is brilliant. As for the actual film, it's the same as ever but bigger and faster and even more furious, with John Cena being added to the cast as Dominic's (Vin Diesel) estranged brother Jakob. The more overblown these films get, the more they hook me in, which is something no other blockbuster franchise has done for me before. I don't know what it is about them because I'm not a car guy at all, but these are just fun and I'm pumped for the next one, where could they possibly go next? 7/10
The Mermaid
dir. Georges Méliès/1904/4m
Another slice of early movie magic sees Méliès go fishing in a top hat, throwing his catches in a aquarium, which then fills the screen before a mermaid appears. These longer films not only allow Méliès to refine his filmmaking techniques but also to show off his personality, which shines through in every movement and flourish he makes. He is such a recognisable character to me now after watching so many of his films and it makes me wish I could have seen him perform his stage magic show. If you've never watched any of these films before take a few minutes now and check some out, they really do feel like magic. 8/10
Damnation
dir. Bela Tarr/1988/1h56m
This film from Hungarian master Bela Tarr is the first where he really cements his trademark style of long takes, controlled movement and a perfect utilisation of the elements like Akira Kurosawa, particularly that of the endless, torrential rain which seems to soak this film to its very soul. The story follows Karrer (Szekely B. Miklos), a lonely, depressed man living in a rundown town that seems to consist of not much more than a few houses and a bar, the Titanik. He is in love with the woman who sings at the bar (Vali Kerekes), but she is married, so he must come up with a scheme to get her husband (Gyorgy Cserhalmi) out of the way. There's a sense of pathetic desperation to all of these characters, like the stray dogs scrabbling around in the dirt and the rain that we see throughout the film. They're all on a sinking ship and there's nothing to do but drink. This all sounds very grim and miserable, and it is, but it's also shot in some of the most beautiful black and white photography you could ask for. There's texture in every surface in this film, you don't just watch it, you can feel it. This is also a very quiet film but the emotional impact is devastating. Not quite on the same level as his later masterpieces Werckmeister Harmonies and Satantango (my favourite film of all time) this is still an expertly crafted film that will transport you to another world. 9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!
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