5FFF: BEST OF THE 2000S

Moon
​Anyone who knows me knows that I love three things:
1. Space movies
2. Doppelgängers
3. The great David Bowie and all who are associated
​
So this was a real treat! I regret pulling up the Wikipedia page before watching, because just looking at the cast list kind of spoiled the whole premise for me. But other than that, my only real complaint is that it felt way too short. I thought I was nearing the midway point and I was surprised to see twenty minutes left in the movie! Still it was a fun watch with a rad performance from Sam Rockwell.

Pan’s Labyrinth
I liked this, but didn’t love it. The costumes, makeup, creature design, and body horror elements were all great, but I ultimately felt like I just didn’t get enough time in either “world” to fully invest in it. The relationships between Ofelia, her mother, the captain, and the maid were intriguing enough, but I think I needed a little bit more time with them.
This might be a super douchey thing to say, but I feel like this could have been a great miniseries… But seriously, there’s a lot of great stuff here, I wouldn’t be opposed to Guillermo expanding on this material in the future (though he should get on it while Dafne Keen is still young!)

The Pianist
~an anecdote~

It was April 2017. I was standing outside a bar in New York City with my gf and a couple other friends. We were all there for our one friend’s 20th birthday, and she was sufficiently drunk, despite the fact that we had not yet been admitted to the bar.

While we stood outside waiting for her “connect” to get us in, Adrien Brody walked by with his dog. As he passed us, I leaned into our circle of conversation and said, “Hey, I think that’s Adrien Brody.”

Everybody turned to look down the street and stared at Mr. Brody as his dog peed freely on a tree just a few yards away from us.

Then my drunk friend yelled out, “WHO THE FUCK IS ADRIEN BRODY?”

Keep in mind, we were still well within the earshot of Mr. Brody, whose dog was continuing to pee on the tree.

I said, “Shhh, he can probably hear us…” to which she responded,

“I DON’T CARE. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO THE FUCK ADRIEN BRODY IS!”

I whisper-shouted, “He has a fucking Oscar!”

Then we all went quiet and looked back at Mr. Brody, whose dog was still peeing. He was staring at us, expressionless. I wanted to apologize on behalf of my friend, or at least let him know in some way that I knew who the fuck Adrien Brody was. But I didn’t say anything. None of us said anything. After a few seconds, his dog finished peeing and he walked away.

Anyway, this is the movie he won that Oscar for.

Moulin Rouge!
To me, Baz Luhrmann and Michael Bay embody a very similar type of chaotic evil that I simply cannot handle. It’s just a “not for me” situation here, though Nicole Kidman is admittedly stunning and Ewen McGregor is charming as all Hell. Still, this just wasn’t my vibe.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
“I’d rather be a ghost, drifting by your side as a condemned soul than enter heaven without you. Because of your love, I will never be a lonely spirit.”

Man I really liked this. What stood out most to me were the great performances from Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, the original score, AND THOSE FIGHT SCENES OF COURSE.

---

What is 5 Film Film Festival (5FFF)?
In short, 5 Film Film Festival is an ongoing personal project to help me watch more classic films. For each mini “festival,” I will choose a random theme (be it a genre, actor, director, etc.) and curate five movies that fit that theme to watch for the first time. When I started this journey, I posted my brief, unpolished thoughts on Letterboxd. I like this more informal, less pretentious mode of watching older movies, so as I begin documenting the project here on the site, don’t expect a lot of in-depth analysis— every “review” will read more like a “first reaction.”

If you’re like me, and you have more than a few blind spots in your cinematic knowledge, then consider joining me on this lifelong endeavor. Watch along, recommend themes, and organize some mini festivals of your own!