NATHAN TAKES CONTROL: Thoughts on the Season 2 Finale of THE REHEARSAL

"I do have faith in him, and I am very excited to see the season through. I just find myself unsure of how to respond to this concept. It is very intriguing, but somehow, the hook for it hasn't grabbed me like it did for the first season. I could see a world where once this season ends, the final results could bolster it up and then the whole season will age remarkably well."  

This is what I wrote at the end of my post for the Season 2 Episode 2 of The Rehearsal. There was a little bit of skepticism, but I did have a kernel of hope that Nathan Fielder would stick the landing.

It seems like lately that Fielder has a desire to have his head up in the clouds. There is a certain quirky symmetry with how The Rehearsal ends its sophomore season and how Fielder (and Benny Safdie) ended the final episode of their Showtime series The Curse. While I don't think I was overly fond of that series as a whole, I have to commend Fielder for truly giving us something that I don't think any of us expected when SPOILER - Fielder's character Asher is sucked into space to his death - END SPOILER.

Here - the finale begins with Fielder doing something that doesn't seem too unusual: he is interviewing actors...but then he makes a comment that makes you do a double-take: he asks them if they are comfortable getting on a plane that he will be piloting. 

Ummm...say that again?

We then flashback two years and we realize that Nathan Fielder, ever willing to commit to a bit, decided to take flying lessons so he could learn more about the process. 

By the episode's end, I was pretty fucking impressed. 

Pardon the groanworthy joke that is akin to all dads, but Nathan Fielder did indeed stick the landing both literally and figuratively...even if the "literal" may have been a little messy. 

In the last 3 years since the first season of The Rehearsal aired, not only was Fielder making The Curse, but he was also trying very hard to become a pilot. To be clear, "trying very hard" is quite the apt phrase as Fielder struggles intensely to adapt the lessons to the point that all of his teachers refuse to let him fly alone and say that he took far too long to grasp the methods.

We see a montage where a few different teachers, because so many had given up on him, take over the reins of the lesson by using the phrase "my controls" to take charge of the flight. Eventually, Fielder does persevere and receives a pilot's license. He is no longer just an actor/writer/comedian trying to help pilots: he IS one. 

As we saw in the previous episode, Fielder's quest to get any kind of regulatory, congressional, or industry interest in his ideas leaves him at a bit of an impasse. He reconsiders another path: take the additional training needed so that he can qualify for a job as a commercial pilot and fly a 737. The training, shockingly and ironically, all takes place in a simulator; he will not fly an actual 737 until the big day arrives.

Leading up to the flight, Fielder fills out the application for his pilot's license and comes up to the question that asks if he has been formally diagnosed with depression or anxiety. He has NOT been diagnosed with these, but it brings up his concerns as to whether or not he may be on the spectrum. He undergoes an FMRI to get clarification on the issue once and for all...but they tell him that the results will not come through until after the flight would occur. With that in mind, he finishes the application with the belief that he does not suffer from anxiety/depression nor is he on the spectrum. 

The day of the flight arrives, but Fielder is not all alone. He does have a pilot named Aaron with him to serve as his second-in-command...but while this is clearly a good thing in theory, Aaron ends up being almost too even keeled to work for the assignment at hand. Fielder wanted to use this flight (with the help of HBO's resources) to be his own way to bring awareness to his cause. Fielder thinks that Aaron might be tense but instead he keeps insisting he is fine...which in turn makes Fielder uneasy about bringing it up again; ironically adding to the bit of a pilot feeling an inability to properly communicate.

The stakes are high, and the tension is palpable, but perhaps one of the best aspects of the flight sequence itself is when a lot of the tension comes from HBO itself as a separate plane filming the 737 is circling around trying to get some good shots.

Fielder manages to land the plane after doing a circle from San Bernadino to the NV border and back again. He managed to achieve a truly personal goal for himself after having it be spun as a way to help the aviation field...and with that, we flash back to the "finale" of Wings of Voice, a plot-diversion that Fielder seemingly fell into that had various singers competing for an American Idol-like title.

The winner performs, to tie back into the brilliantly loony usage of it in the season's 3rd episode, "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence. Like clockwork, Fielder receives a voicemail letting him know that his results are in. Much like his claim that the song gave Sully Sullenberger the strength to achieve the "Miracle on the Hudson", it punctuates Fielder realizing he doesn't need to know the results. In the end, he was able to fly a 737 and that is enough.

As the episode ends, we learn that Fielder has been using his newfound skill to help fly unused jets to various corners of the world after learning more about the program when searching for a plane to fly. We learn that he has flown over the Amazon rainforest at night, and as a clear sense of vindication, we hear him talking about flying solo over the Atlantic and seeing him reach the sands of an African desert adding via voiceover: "They only let the smartest and best people fly a plane of this size. No one is allowed in the cockpit if something is wrong with them. So, if you're here, you must be fine".

One could argue that this sophomore outing of The Rehearsal was a bit grandiose in comparison to the first season...but it also felt insanely personal to Nathan Fielder, like a very bizarre meta character study mixed in with a singing competition and a mini-Sully biopic that I would pay to see a full version of. 

Fielder may have been trying to help out pilots, but as the season went along, it became clear that he really needed to help himself...and it felt invigorating to watch him achieve not just what he did with this season, but with the fact he is now a licensed pilot!

It is truly inspiring, to say the least!

As someone who has been a fan of Fielder's work since Nathan for You, it has been such a delight to watch him grow and expand with his material. You see signs of it very early on in that first series, but he is easily the most intriguing and genius mind working on TV these days.

He always manages to keep you on your toes and second guessing in ways that still leave me in awe; even when I feel a bit mixed or perplexed by the final product (i.e. The Curse). Perhaps what will be interesting to see is if the Emmys will embrace it.

It was just announced that HBO will be submitting The Rehearsal in the Outstanding Comedy categories, which has it pitted against more traditional fare like Abbott Elementary. I would love to be pleasantly surprised and see them embrace it, but I feel doubtful at the moment. I hope that thought ages like a glass of milk sitting on a sunny windowsill in the month of July, however. 

There was a line written by film critic Pauline Kael when she was discussing the 1973 film The Way We Were starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. She thought positively of the film but acknowledged that it wasn't exactly perfect and described it as: "a torpedoed ship full of gaping holes that comes snugly into port".

Now - this line is WAY too harsh to describe how I feel about this season of The Rehearsal but the general idea behind it rings a bit clear. As a whole, I do think this season did falter a bit only in keeping its intentions a bit unclear at first which lead to more middling episodes like "Star Potential" and "Kissme"...but the final results tie it all together so beautifully and it was even something I sort of expected would happen but not to this extent. 

I adored the first season, but there is something undeniably potent about what Fielder achieved here. It feels so emotionally resonant and as if he is bearing his soul to us in a way that feels unlike anything I have seen on TV in...well...maybe ever.

I would love to see him do a third season, but even if he moves on to a new project that isn't connected to this idea, I think it would make sense. How is he going to top becoming a pilot? Is he going to run for office? 

Hmmm...imagine something like that for a moment.

Nathan Fielder is a genius...and I am glad that he found a new sense of peace and self-assuredness, not to mention a cool new hobby. 

A NEURODIVERGENT DIVERSION- Thoughts on S2/E5 of THE REHEARSAL

I may be a broken record when it comes to Nathan Fielder, but he does often leave me rather impressed or bemused. I can't help but love how he manages to take us down unsuspecting rabbit holes on a weekly basis, and in this instance, he may have even discovered something about himself that he didn't realize.

The episode begins where the previous one left off: Fielder is sitting in front of a faux congressional committee in hopes that he can fully prepare himself for the moment he may actually get the chance to make his case.

In order to bolster the accuracy and have assistance, John Goglia is back to chime in with instant feedback and it is clear that the actors playing the committee members have done their homework in terms of asking the crucial questions to challenge Fielder. 

As one would likely expect, Fielder is not at ease. The big difference here, unlike what we would see during his Nathan for You days, is that he clearly knows he is fumbling and can see how much Goglia and the committee actors are struggling to connect to his cause.

Fielder decides to follow down the path of fellow comedians who testified in front of actual congressional committees and utilizes one very key bit they would often rely on: opening with a joke. 

Case in point, Seth Rogen began his plea for Alzheimer's awareness and research by acknowledging how it must be shocking that he wasn't there to plea for widespread legalization of marijuana. What does Fielder opt to go for? A masturbation joke which seemingly leaves the room speechless.

Fielder then approaches one of the attendees and asks him if he thought this was funny and why he didn't laugh. The actor genuinely found it funny but wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh. In response, Fielder speaks to the actors and says to be as genuine as possible with their responses. Once he repeats the joke again, the audience responds as if their lives depend on laughing. One woman in particular sounds like she hasn't laughed in years and she feels so relieved to get it all out...which, of course, is not want Fielder wanted either.

This is when Nathan Fielder realizes that whether it be due to his comedic persona or how awkward he may be perceived, he has to find a way to be able to convince people that there is more to him than this. He begins a Google search on himself and revisits various bits from throughout his career only to make a discovery he was not aware of: The Rehearsal had been warmly embraced by many in the autism/neurodivergent communities, which was discussed in a few articles...namely that of Sam Robertson, an autistic writer for Consequence of Sound, who had absolutely adored the first season of The Rehearsal as he found that Fielder's attempts at trying to mimic and understand human behavior felt so relatable to his "masking" within social settings.

Fielder expresses to the audience via narration that he never thought of or intended for this to be some kind of discreet example of autism awareness, but the more he reads various articles on the topic, the more he finds a potential link between autistic masking and various pilots choosing to compartmentalize their emotions. 

Through further research, Fielder finds a Tennessee congressman named Steve Cohen who not only happens to be part of the Congressional Autism Caucus, but the Aviation Committee. His hope is to get Cohen on his side and see if he can get him a way to speak in front of the committee in Washington, DC.

In order to further prepare himself before meeting Cohen, Fielder pays a visit to Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, who offers her opinion that Fielder did achieve something special with the first season...but further research also shows that she participated in the 2016 propaganda film Vaxxed which links autism to being caused by vaccines. One has to wonder if this is something that Fielder and his team didn't know about or care about or maybe it was a subtle way for people to pick up on the lunacy of having such a person on the show. 

Although, Granpeesheh does give Fielder the "Reading the Mind of the Eyes" test where you have to determine what mood someone is feeling. As he takes the test, we realize that he isn't quite sure of the answers which leads to him realizing perhaps he is on the spectrum...and it is a glorious moment to watch because it is the perfect example of how we don't quite know how much of this is reality meeting fiction. 

One very interesting development following this is Granpeesheh expressing that in order to get Fielder's clout to appear more serious, he should consider offering a service to autistic children who often have difficulty going through airport security. Fielder points out he really didn't want to involve children after what happened during the first season (GO WATCH THAT SEASON IF YOU HAVEN'T!), but he does change his mind and the results do appear to be very fruitful.

Being further emboldened by this, Fielder goes to DC to meet Cohen, an eccentric congressman with tons of Kennedy memorabilia in his office and a shirt collar that seems to want to defy gravity along with Elphaba.

Fielder tries to give him his pitch, but can't do it off the cuff and has to resort to a written text. As one might expect, Cohen seems rather perplexed by the concept of this and connecting it to autism...even if by this point, we just want to see Fielder succeed.

This whole season has had the core throughline of preventing aviation crashes by way of creating a role-playing program...and perhaps Nathan Fielder will find a way somehow to get that back to the forefront. However, as is his way, he always finds new paths that enthrall and surprise you. 

As we approach the season finale, we will have to see how much Fielder will embrace this new identity of sorts...or if he will throw us another curveball that makes everything come together in a chaotic but gloriously looking bow.

"...Beneath the Milky Twilight..." - Thoughts on S2/E4 of THE REHEARSAL

 Nathan Fielder has always had a fascination not only with trying to make connections with others but also trying to make connections flourish within others.

On Nathan for You, one episode had him pick a random guy who was sort of coasting through life aimlessly and chose to live his life as a means of giving him an exciting new start. This consisted of him taking up tight rope walking lessons so he could stage a charity event walking between two buildings 80ft above street level. It also involved him posing as the guy on dates and netting him a girlfriend. A very interesting concept that also proved later to be awkward when the guy, named Corey, revealed he couldn't maintain the relationship with that girl considering the false pretenses. 

Even when it came to himself, we would see Fielder awkwardly placing himself in romantic positions that never truly paid off. Referring to middle-aged realtor Sue as beautiful and then painting a sultry portrait of her as a gift; creating a fictional romance reality show a la The Bachelor called The Stud, with him as the titular prize; and him having an actress tell him "I love you" over and over again to make it believe it is truly for him.

After the previous episode became a mini-epic Sully biopic that stands among some of the finest work Fielder has ever done, we return to an episode that feels a lot more grounded with "Kissme", where Fielder zeroes in on a young 27-year-old pilot named Colin who finds dating to be very difficult. It seems to be stemmed from his own anxieties while also based somewhat in reality due to the chaotic nature of a pilot's schedule. 

Going off nature documentaries, Fielder has Colin participate in a mock date with an actress but having flocked by what he calls "The Pack", about 15 or so actors who mimic all of Colin's mannerisms and comments. Since animals often hunt in packs, he calls out how it can give each individual animal confidence and therefore, maybe it would work for Colin. In typical Fielder fashion, he wants to try to meddle even more and asks if anyone among the group would have a genuine interest in trying to go on a date with Colin.

Three women raise their hand, including a middle-aged black woman who thinks Colin has a "sexy Einstein quality". This woman steals the episode in a lot of ways; she is so bold and forthcoming, especially when one of the younger women, Emma, decides to try to make a move on Colin, she steps in a flat-out tells him about his Einstein vibe which, I'll admit, I am not sure where she was coming from but it did make for an entertaining bit, nevertheless.

Colin and Emma do go on a couple of dates, but in the meantime, Fielder utilizes the other actors to stage mock dates in a replica of Colin's studio apartment after they observed both Colin and Emma. This way, it allows Fielder to suspect how an actual date between the two of them would go. 

As is to be expected, the actors are far more forthcoming in the intimacy than the real Colin, who cannot build up the courage to give Emma a kiss; she even confesses to Nathan that she is open to it.

The episode is bookended with two key bits from the previous episode, beginning with the continuation of the "Wings of Voice" competition which Fielder had trapped himself into and ending with him getting closer to his ultimate goal: preparing to rehearse what would be a congressional hearing to propose the benefits of behavioral flight simulations among pilots.

While you could argue this episode had less of a throughline compared to the previous ones, it comes off a solid steppingstone episode where all of Fielder's paths and concoctions collide. For a moment, I had forgotten that the season was only going to last 6 episodes but at the end, when we see Fielder sitting before a fake congressional hearing, I felt strangely sad but sort of proud of him. 

I am still not wholly convinced yet about how I will feel about the season as a whole. I think that what he achieved with the first season was so stellar that it would be difficult to measure up, but there are so many fascinating parts to this season that still make far more interesting than most things on TV.

Sometimes I wonder if I sound too negative about this season, but I think it's just because Nathan Fielder has set his own bar so high that it can be hard for certain things to measure up even if they are very compelling and intriguing in their own right.

With only two episodes left, I still do think Fielder has the potential to truly wow me and I am looking forward to having that happen.

A Look Back at 1995 in Film - 30 YEARS LATER

As of late, I feel like I tend to get a lot of traction and interest for my Year's Best Retrospective posts. I am singling out 1995 as it turns 30 this year, but I am not about to make the claim that this is a hidden gem of a year.

The 15 films I am about to discuss are all very good to great films, although my top 3 would be the only films that warrant a 5-star rating for me. The rest would get 4.5/5 but that is certainly nothing to scoff at. I think 1995 is another prime example of a year where The Oscars and the rest of the award season were not the best barometer of in showing the best of the year.

For example, spoiler alert, Braveheart won Best Picture that year, but it will be nowhere close to making it onto this list. To give you a tease, only one Best Picture nominee from that year made this list...and it was not the one I would've expected. 1995 was a pretty strong year when it comes to indie and we will be seeing quite a few of those on this list as well. 

It is still pretty crazy that 1995 is now 30 years ago. While I proceed to lift my jaw from off the floor at the fact, let's dive into the list.

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#15 - WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE

Written & Directed by Todd Solondz

While technically not released to the general public until May of 1996, Welcome to the Dollhouse first premiered at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival so, for all intents and purposes, I am going to shout it out here. 

The film revolves around an awkward and unpopular 12-year-old named Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo) who lives in a small suburban New Jersey town with her dysfunctional family. 

Todd Solondz has such a distinctly subversive satirical style that is dripping with dry, dark humor and that is fully on display here.

Coming-of-age films can be insufferable to sit through, but they can also be surprisingly engrossing when done well. I think when they do something invigorating with the tone, they can become something more than just an awkward but endearing story. 

I always think back to my time in middle school as the worst time of my life, and it is always films like this that can truly capture that vibe of how kids can be very cruel...and not to mention, very stupid.

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#14 - KIDS

Directed by Larry Clark

Written by Harmony Korine

Perhaps one of the more volatile films on this list both in terms of content and the critical response, Kids is an aggressive look at the lives of pre-teens and teenagers roaming the streets of New York.

They are sexually active, including the nearly 18-year-old Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) sleeping with a 12-year-old girl and taking her virginity. In fact, Telly only wants to have sex with virgins. They also shoplift alcohol and consume other narcotic substances regularly. 

We eventually meet Jennie (the exceptional Chloe Sevigny in her film debut), who tests positive for HIV, but she tells the nurse that she only had sex with one person: Telly. She then tries to get ahold of him knowing he will likely keep spreading it to other young girls. 

Director Larry Clark wanted to have Kids be seen as "the Great American Teenage Movie" as if it could be comparable to that of a "Great American Novel". I will say that Kids is brutal in the best ways, and it does seemingly capture a New York that hasn't quite been messed with by the Rudy Guiliani administration who had just become NYC Mayor while the film was being shot.

Two of the film's biggest defenders at the time of its release were Roger Ebert and Janet Maslin. The former acknowledged that this was a film that needed to be discussed and that while the film has a message, it is also fully aware that "safe sex is not going to civilize these kids". Nothing is going to be THAT simple. The latter felt that the film was difficult to sit through for the right reasons and that it should be seen "as a wakeup call to the modern world".

I actually haven't watched Kids since high school. I do have to wonder how it would be if I went back to revisit it.

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#13 - LOVE LETTER

Written & Directed by Shunji Iwai

I don't even remember for certain what led me to watching Love Letter. It wasn't like I heard of the director or any of the performers, but admittedly, there was a time in my life where I did take more chances on watching films in a way that I don't really do today. Normally I will dig around and find recommendations rather than basing it just off the description I may come across...which back then would've likely been via the TV Guide Channel or a literal TV Guide.

A young woman named Hiroko (Miho Nakayama) loses her fiance Itsuki in a mountain climbing accident. Two years after the accident, a memorial service is held; she looks through his high school yearbook and finds an address under his name. As a form of catharsis, Hiroko decides to write a letter to Itsuki and sends it to the address only to get a response back from a WOMAN named Itsuko. From that point on, the film alternates between Hiroko and the female Itsuki as they become pen pals. 

However, we do learn that the female and male Itsuki both knew each other, which makes Hiroko suspect that maybe the reason he fell in love with her is due to the resemblance she shares with the female Itsuki. I should also point out that the female Itsuki is played by the same actress to really drive that point home.

Love Letter is a film that somehow manages to straddle a line between being bittersweet but also feels deeply beautiful. Dealing with the grief of memories is something that is very universal no matter the language, but admittedly, I always love when this comes up as a subject in Japanese cinema. 

Even recently with Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car, I found that to be another great example of how people handle grief and those around them with grief...whereas that film also had grief being expressed through art, Love Letter is through the connection of a lost love and how a random stranger can give you some kind of catharsis. 

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#12 - THE USUAL SUSPECTS

Directed by Bryan Singer

Written by Christopher McQuarrie 

Good lord, I always forget that this film was directed by Bryan Singer...moving past that awkward tidbit of info...

The Usual Suspects is part of a group of films that has maintained a sense of "legend" due to its ending, sort of like The Sixth Sense or Fight Club would achieve 4 years later. However, as amazing as the ending is, I do think the film has more to offer than that.

Having said that, I do find it interesting that this is one film over time that I have grown to admire less. There was a time where I likely would've ranked this film not only in my top 3 but as high as my #1 slot. Even when I first drafted this list, I had it at #4. After I started to write about it and other films, I found myself thinking more positively about the rest of the list and kept shifting The Usual Suspects down.

What really brings this film up to a higher level, aside from the script's progression to the end, is that of Kevin Spacey's performance as Verbal Kint. Say what you will about Kevin Spacey, but the man can act. I adore this performance, and he is simply so captivating acting opposite Chazz Palminteri. 

I used to try to defend this film A LOT more, but I do think it doesn't fully age as well as a final product. However, if you go in pretty blind, you will likely appreciate it quite a bit. At the very least, you can admire the plotting and that iconic Oscar winning Spacey performance. 

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#11 - PARTY GIRL

Written & Directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer

Co-written by Harry Birckmayer

Thanks to her scene-stealing work on Season 3 of The White Lotus as the well-to-do North Carolinian Victoria Ratliff, Parker Posey has had a bit of a career resurgence at the time of me writing this post. As a kid, I took to her instantly in the Christopher Guest movies, namely Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show.

However, Parker Posey had a whole other moniker entirely in the 90s: Queen of the Indies. 

Bouncing around working with filmmakers like Richard Linklater and Noah Baumbach in their earliest films, Posey established herself as an effervescent and eccentric character actress who could pretty much do anything you asked of her. 

This vibe truly began with Party Girl, in which Michael Musto of Vanity Fair dubbed her "the new Queen of the Art House" and was a highly assured feature-film directorial debut for Daisy von Scherler Mayer, who had mostly been known for her contemporary stage interpretations of Shakespeare staples like The Tempest and Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Posey plays Mary, a young woman who spends her life flitting from party to party until one night, she is arrested at an underground rave. Once she has her godmother Judy pay her bail, she seeks to repay her but reluctantly agrees to do so by becoming a clerk at the New York Public Library where Judy happens to work. 

This is a very solid film that is elevated by the presence of Parker Posey. For a film that cost only $150,000 and was shot over 19 days, the final result is a little underrated gem from 90s cinema...and in terms of its footnote in history, it just so happens to be the first film to have a premiere on the internet which had only been available widespread for roughly 2 years at that point.

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#10 - BABE

Written & Directed by Chris Noonan

Co-written by George Miller 

Yes, you are reading this correctly. Babe is an absolute delight. 

What is even more hilarious is that as kid, I wasn't a big fan of the film. In fact, when I heard that it got nominated for Best Picture, I was floored!

However, I cannot deny that this film is so sweet and charming and that the scenes between James Cromwell and Babe the Pig are enchanting. That final moment (seen in the picture) when Babe looks up at Cromwell's Farmer Hoggett and he says the immortal "That'll do, pig. That'll do"...it almost makes me misty even thinking about it now.

When it comes to family-oriented films, Babe was a clear example of one that was made with total class and a sense of detail. It wears its heart and soul on its collar, and it does thrill me that a film like this was able to be embraced by the film community as a strong artistic achievement. I can even recall at the time that the film led to a surge in vegetarianism, with James Cromwell leading that charge. 

As for its sequel, Babe: Pig in the City, a film that Gene Siskel dubbed the Best Film of 1998, I remember THAT one flooring me in other ways...but that is a story for another day. George Miller took the reigns which wasn't shocking considering how much he and Noonan feuded during the making of the first one. I just think its crazy that George Miller, the same man behind the Mad Max films, also help bring children's fare like Babe and Happy Feet to the screen.

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 #9 - SE7EN 

Directed by David Fincher

Written by Andrew Kevin Walker

After having a highly successful career directing music videos, including the iconic "Vogue" and "Express Yourself" videos for Madonna, David Fincher was given the opportunity to direct the third installment of Alien. Needless to say, that did not go well. A lot of that film's faults, however, can't fully be attributed to Fincher as it is clear he does have some interesting visual ideas.

His sophomore outing, Se7en, is truly his coming out party and where you can see the true promise of his technical mastery. 

I am not exactly a passionate fan of Fincher's work like I am some of his contemporaries, but it is hard to deny that man is a master at crafting tension and can pace scenes down to a tee. Even a film like Zodiac, which I actually think is superior to Se7en, is nearly 3 hours long but he keeps that film moving in such a way that I marvel at it every time I see it. 

Se7en is a film that I did like upon first viewing, but it resonated over time. So much about the film's aesthetic is so gritty and grime, but it comes off as vibrant and thrillingly alive. At that point in time, I am not sure many people were going to claim that Brad Pitt was some kind of remarkable actor, but he is buoyed up working next to a master like Morgan Freeman. 

The idea of a serial killer utilizing the Seven Deadly Sins feels like one of those plots that could border on gimmicky and melodramatic, but nothing about Se7en suggests this. 

But I gotta say...that scene where Kevin Spacey gives Brad Pitt some head...if you know, you know...

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#8 - FALLEN ANGELS

Written & Directed by Wong Kar-wai

Ah yes, my main man Wong!

I have waxed rhapsodic about Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai quite a bit on this blog, particularly his magnum opus, In The Mood for Love from 2000. I have also talked a little bit some of his other films such as Happy Together from 1997, but this is the first time I will be discussing Fallen Angels, his neo-noir genre bending crime film.

The film circles around two intertwining stories: Wong Chi-ming (Leon Lai), a hitman who is looking to leave his life behind and the relationship he has with a prostitute named Hui-ling (Karen Mok) and his "partner" (Michelle Reis) who is in love with him. The second story looks at a mute ex-convict named Chi-mo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who is on the run from the police and an unstable woman named Charlie (Charlie Young) who seems to be living a life of constant despair. 

I do think the film has developed a strong cult following over the years, but I will say it is clearly on the lesser end of Wong's filmography. Saying that, however, is not as harsh as it may seem considering how strong most of his works actually are. Upon its release, some critics bemoaned that the film was "style over substance" to the point where Roger Ebert said the film was so niche that it would only be liked by a small subset of film people whom you might see "in a Japanese anime section of a video store."

I do think this sells the film a bit short, but it does come across like an MTV of the 90s permeating into a crime film. I just think for what it is, it worked for me. It may not be as deep or profound as his other works, but it is very sleek and vibrant, nonetheless.

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#7 - MABOROSI

Directed by Hirokazu Kore-ada

Written by Yoshihisa Ogita 

Original Story by Teru Miyamoto

It makes me very happy that I now get to discuss the great Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-ada, who is still churning out fantastic work after having won the Palme d'Or in 2018 for Shoplifters and his wonderful 2023 coming-of-age psychological drama Monster. His directorial debut, and one of his 5 best films, was Maborosi which in Japanese means "Phantasmic Light". 

The film opens with a young couple named Yumiko and Ikuo (Makikio Esumi & Tadanobu Asano), who recently welcomed a new baby. One day while going for a walk near train tracks, Ikuo is struck and killed by an oncoming train. While sort of left ambiguous, we are left to believe that he intended to do this on purpose. After a few years pass, Yumiko agrees to an arranged marriage with another widower named Tamio (Takashi Naito) and how they manage to find a common ground in their grief.

I have talked a lot about the late great Japanese filmmaker Yosujiro Ozu on this blog, the man who was behind Tokyo Story, Late Autumn, Early Summer, among others...and I have always felt that Kore-ada was something of a modern-day./ example of Ozu.

This film, in particular, really taps into the Ozu aesthetic with its genteel mood surrounding a topic of a woman dealing with expectations of marriage and what love/relationships look like for others...and how willing we are to let the opinions of society shape that. 

While not as complex as some of his future films, Maborosi is deeply effective and represents a truly wonderful and assured director who would go on to become one of the greatest of our time.

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#6 - LA CEREMONIE

Written & Directed by Claude Chabrol

Co-written by Caroline Eliacheff

When you think of great female duos in film, you could begin with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Thelma & Louise or go for full on comedic camp with Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow in Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion. There are many great female duos beyond what I just mentioned but one that I wish got more attention is that of Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Bonnaire in La Ceremonie. 

Surprisingly, I don't think I have really talked much (if at all) about Isabelle Huppert on this blog and that floors me as I consider her to be one of the finest acting talents to ever exist. She is simply sublime. I did bring up Sandrine Bonnaire when I discussed her performance in Agnes Varda's Vagabond, and she is also quite the luminous performer. 

I had first seen La Ceremonie back when I was in high school and really enjoyed it, but it wasn't until I revisited the film during my oft-mentioned Quarantine Rewatches of 2020 that I realized how much I actually loved what Chabrol achieved here. The reason I ended up revisiting it was due to Bong Joon-ho, who mentioned La Ceremonie as a major source of inspiration for Parasite. 

In the film, Bonnaire plays Sophie, a young woman who is hired as the maid for the rich Lelievere family who live in an isolated Brittany mansion. We learn as the film progresses that Sophie is illiterate and has had a history of violence in that she may have not only set fire to her father's house but intended to kill him.

Her energy is exacerbated when she meets Jeanne (Huppert), who is woman mired in jealous and aggressive tendencies and expects the worst from everyone. She also has a violent record as she was charged with the murder of her 4-year-old daughter but was acquitted of the crime.

The two of them soon find ways to slink deeper into the lives of the Lelievre family, but things take a turn when Sophie tries to blackmail Melinda Lelievre (Jacqueline Bisset) after she discovers that she is illiterate. 

A film like La Ceremonie flirts with being pulpy, but Chabrol, a director who was part of the illustrious French New Wave, elevates this to neo-noir art. It also doesn't hurt that you have actresses the caliber of Huppert and Bonnaire leading the charge as both of them are simply compelling beyond belief. 

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#5 - TO DIE FOR

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Written by Buck Henry

When I first saw To Die For, it was right in the middle of the Nicole Kidman explosion that occurred right after her divorce from Tom Cruise. With her work in films like Moulin Rouge, The Others, and The Hours, she became the talk of the town and ended up winning the Oscar for the latter.

However, all I kept hearing online from other film fanatics was that her best work was still in To Die For and that she was on the brink of an Oscar nomination after winning the Comedy Globe and the Critics' Choice Award. 

I still feel to this day that To Die For may remain Nicole Kidman's best work and that is certainly a strong claim to make considering she has done consistently solid work over the years while also making bold & artistic choices.

I also might love To Die For as a film more than most. I tend to be drawn to stories where people are trying so desperately to achieve a life they want, and that is something I definitely related to when I first saw the film. Even now, feeling very unfulfilled with my job, I can relate to it wholeheartedly. 

To Die For straddles a line of wish fulfillment and psychosis as we see Nicole Kidman's Suzanne Stone-Maretto (or as she prefers "Suzanne Stone...that's my PROFESSIONAL name") trying eagerly to make her way up the television ladder to become a beloved newscaster a la Barbara Walters or Connie Chung. 

With a persistence that borders on obsessive, Suzanne is able to obtain a job as an assistant for her tiny local TV affiliate in the fictional Little Hope, New Hampshire. She eventually turns this into doing the nightly news weather forecasts. With her ounce of a profile, she pushes to get a documentary series made called "Teens Speak Out" and tries to recruit local high schoolers for the program which among this group includes Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, and Alison Folland. However, Suzanne STILL doesn't feel enough fulfillment from her life, even after she has a whirlwind marriage/romance with a local business owner named Larry (Matt Dillon). 

Her documentary series ends up becoming a whole other plot entirely. 

To Die For is dark satire at its sadistic best. The sardonic script by Buck Henry contains some of his best work and under the hand of Gus Van Sant, we get to see Nicole Kidman truly soar in this role where we both enthrall in her rise and rejoice at her downfall.

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#4 - SAFE

Written & Directed by Todd Haynes

Safe is one of those films that I always had respect for, but for whatever reason, I would often forget about the film whenever the topic of 1995 in cinema would come up. This isn't the first time I have discussed the film on my blog as I did discuss Julianne Moore's performance back in my Best Performance of the 90s post from a couple of years ago. 

As it stands now, Safe has stood the test of time for me. The more I think about it, the more I admire it.

Safe involves Julianne Moore as Carol White, a suburban housewife living outside of LA with her husband Greg and stepson Rory. Her life seems to be all surface level, not a lot of excitement and even her friendships come with a bit of distance.

After her home undergoes a renovation, Carol's health begins to respond rather intensely to various outside sources whether it be having uncontrollable coughing fits after being around car exhaust, suffering a panic attack for the first time, and having a nosebleed while getting a perm. 

Writer/director Todd Haynes wanted to tackle a film about the concept of "environmental diseases" and how a housewife might opt for a new age method to try to cure herself, which had been all the rage in his social circles from various gay men who tried that method after having been diagnosed with AIDS. 

The final result is simply a truly devastating experience, and it is no wonder that Haynes and Moore would go on to be a fantastic "auteur/muse" pairing for decades to come. In fact, this film truly showed the world what Moore was capable of as up to that point, she was mainly known for her role on the CBS Daytime Soap As the World Turns and supporting roles in films like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Short Cuts, and Vanya on 42nd Street.

To this day, this ranks among her absolute best work. I would also say the same in terms of Haynes' filmography as well. It acts as a harsh critique not just towards the medical industrial complex but also that of the Louise Hay-esque self-help ideologies...and the final moments with Moore staring at her gaunt expression in the mirror telling her that she loves herself is nothing less than unsettling.

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#3 - TOY STORY

Co-written & Directed by John Lasseter 

Also written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, & Alec Sokolow

Story by Lasseter, Stanton, Pete Docter, & Joel Ranft

When Toy Story was released in theatres back in October 1995, I was 7 years old; CLEARLY right within the prime target audience.

Watching the film at that time, the graphics were clearly something to marvel at and I greatly enjoyed it. For whatever reason though, I wouldn't say I was passionate about it. Not sure why that was exactly, but it took me growing up to truly find my adoration for this film series. It was my rapturous response to seeing Toy Story 3 in theatres that really led me on that journey.

When I look at Toy Story now, there is one major aspect to it that stands out more than anything: the script. 

In fact, Toy Story was the first animated film to receive a Screenplay nomination, although it did happen to lose to The Usual Suspects. I am not looking to pit either film against each other, but strictly judging Toy Story's script, it walks that fine line between being fully appropriate for young kids while providing enough of a salty edge for the parents who sit through it with them. 

The dialogue within the script is so memorable. I am not even talking about "To infinity and beyond" but who can forget Buzz Lightyear's "You are a sad, strange little man" or Woody incredulously exclaiming "That's not flying, that's...falling with style!"

And a lot of that great dialogue is brought to life by Tom Hanks, who was fresh off of back-to-back Oscar wins, and Tim Allen, who was at the height of his star power as the lead of the highly successful sitcom Home Improvement. The whole ensemble, ranging from Don Rickles to Estelle Harris to Wallace Shawn to Annie Potts to John Ratzenberger to Jim Varney has got to be one of the best voice casts for any animated film I can think of. 

It is also impressive how a lot of the imagery in the film still holds up 30 years later, but to me, it still always comes back to that script. Considering how the film was breaking new ground as the first full-length computer animated film, they could've coasted by on that fact and avoided devoting a lot of time to the story. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

These films have always been made with stellar stories and concepts behind them, particularly the 3rd one. I do think perhaps they should've ended it with the 3rd one, but the 4th entry was very solid and well written in its own right. 

I do have to wonder what we will get with the 5th entry, though.

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#2 - BEFORE SUNRISE

Written & Directed by Richard Linklater

Co-written by Kim Krizan

After showing off a certain flair for eccentric misfits in films like Slacker and Dazed & Confused, Richard Linklater appeared in 1995 with the ultimate meet-cute film and thus began one of my favorite film trilogies of all time.

Before Sunrise begins on June 16, 1994. An American named Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is boarding a train in Budapest after traveling around Europe. On the train, he meets Celine (Julie Delpy), a French student who is returning to Paris after visiting her grandmother. The two strike up a conversation over the books they are reading and have instant chemistry. 

Jesse is on a bit of a time crunch though as he has a flight out of Vienna the very next day, but the two decide to spend the rest of the day together before going their separate ways. 

I can't even begin to tell you how truly enchanting of an experience I consider this film to be. Hawke and Delpy are absolutely radiant together and you completely buy into the idea that these two people could connect so instantly. 

Everything about the film is so fleeting and may be seen by some as a kind of fantasy, but everything about the film seems believable and grounded. I often think a lot about the ending, which might seem to be a bit bizarre in today's social media-drenched culture, but it also feels very poignant at the same time. 

As I mentioned before, this is the first film in a trilogy that would be followed by 2004's Before Sunset, which is where Jesse and Celine cross paths in Paris, and 2013's Before Midnight, in which the duo are now married with kids but face some personal turmoil. 

As a film trilogy, each film offers something so rich and alive and human. I don't think it is any of their intentions, but if there was ever a film series I would be curious to see continue beyond a 3rd installment, it is this one.

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#1 - LA HAINE

Written & Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz

This is not the first mention of La Haine on this blog. I had included the film on my Best Film of the 90s list way back when and I also singled out Vincent Cassel on during my old "Acting!" series where I tackled my favorite performances of the 90s. 

Set in a poor immigrant-heavy suburb in Paris, La Haine is about three young friends: one Jewish, one Black, and one Muslim and follows them over the course of one day and one night.

Much like Do the Right Thing, I would say La Haine is a film that took on a deeper and darker new light for me over the past few years. The first time I saw it was when I was in high school back in 2005 when I began to dig deeper into French cinema. My immediate response to it then was extremely positive but the more I think about it, the more I admire it as I've gotten older.

The film begins with a riot and a man named Abdel getting killed while in police custody, which is loosely based on Zairean and Makome Bowole, who died in police custody in the early 90s.

Vinz (Vincent Cassel) is the most aggressive of the group and seeks to avenge Abdel's death. He openly despises police officers and even acts out Taxi Driver fantasies in his head of murdering them. 

Hubert (Hubert Kounde) is a boxer who is actually trying to seek to find a better life and would rather not provoke the police, even though his boxing gym got destroyed during the riots. 

Said (Said Taghmaoui) is the calm mediator of the group who has to tend to the consistently bickering Vinz and Hubert.

As I mentioned above, I saw La Haine as a teenager but even at that time, I picked up on the vibe that the film felt like a continuation of the French New Wave but under a more modern lens. While those films from the 60s had a certain gloss about them (and I don't mean that negatively), I loved how Kassovitz made a film that borrowed from ideas of the Wave along with Italian Neo-realism and placed it in a setting that is so unrelented and modern and still very timely, as hard as that is to say.

I would actually consider this film to be recommended viewing, and I wish it could be shown to teenagers. The subtitle aspect of it would likely turn off many, but as a film, I think it should be able to grab one's attention rather easily.

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

Considering this is smack dab in the middle of the 90s, I do feel like 1995 is a good representation for the kind of cinematic content we got throughout that decade. I still maintain that it wasn't the greatest year for cinema of that decade, but I do think we get some great variety in terms of whimsical efforts (Babe) to the volatile societal attacks (La Haine, Kids). 

I do love that the 90s brought back a strong indie scene which felt more prominent in the 70s but dipped throughout the 80s. 

I don't have much else to add here, but I do hope to do more posts like these in the coming months. Not sure what year I will want to tackle next, but the possibilities are almost endless. It is my blog after all. ;-)

EVANESCENCE ON THE HUDSON: Thoughts on S2/E3 of THE REHEARSAL

 If someone said that we would get to see Nathan Fielder dressed as an infant Sully Sullenberger getting breastfed from a massive puppet mother, I would say "oh yeah, that tracks". What a joy to live in a time when a man of such complete and utter lunacy is putting out such absurd content on television.

It is time to discuss Season 2/Episode 3 of The Rehearsal, entitled "Pilot's Code".

When the episode begins, we don't even delve into the theme of pilots and flights right away. Instead, we meet a couple named Bogdan and Monique. When their dog Achilles passed away, they chose to get him cloned on multiple occasions (must be nice to be able to have that kind of expendable income...) but found that the results were lackluster as the clones don't share the same personality at all. 

Enter Nathan Fielder!

Fielder re-creates the house layout that Bogdan and Monique had when they lived in San Jose back in 2011...and even though they live outside of LA now, it doesn't matter. Fielder has tanks full of air transported down from San Jose to blow onto the dog to try to create a similar environment. Honestly, it was THIS bit early on that had me sold. The idea of pumping air from San Jose out on a dog in LA to try to get it to take on the personality of the OG version of Achilles is one of the most Nathan Fielder-based ideas that I can't help but just fall in love with the surreal genius of this man all over again. 

As is his won't, Fielder finds a way to tie this back to his theme of airline pilots and what conditions them to act the way that they do. He becomes drawn to perhaps the most famous pilot of them all: Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the man behind the iconic crash landing known as the "Miracle on the Hudson" here in New York. 

Using his autobiography as a guide, Fielder wants to act out various key moments from Sully's life which does include acting as Sully in his infancy/toddler years on a set that could be on the verge of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids complete with a mom played by a massive puppet and a father who walks on stilts. He even acts out a bit from Sully's life where he took a girl up in a plane and how he referred to it as a "sensual experience". In order to truly experience this, Fielder can't feel aroused with the actress playing the girl, so he has her and the crew all leave the simulation room so he can watch porn to achieve the level of horniness he deems appropriate. 

The little details when it comes to the sexual humor makes me think back to Nathan for You, particularly the episode in which he has a robot claw arm programmed to pull down his pants at the expense of exposing himself to young children (you had to be there...). He is willing to put himself in ridiculous and embarrassing situations all for the sake of comedy, and while that is a point I have made before, I am still impressed by it time and time again. 

The culmination of the episode delves into how Fielder notices certain words like "cope" or "deal" within Sully's autobiography and how he tends to avoid discussing his emotions too deeply, if at all. One method he brings up to try to work through these repressed emotions is listening to music on his iPod. Sully had said he had a particular fondness for Evanescence, who are most known for the song "Bring Me to Life". 

While going through the simulation of the Miracle on the Hudson landing, Fielder noticed there was a 23-second gap on the recording where Sully remains silent while the control tower tries to communicate with him. He makes the connection that the chorus to "Bring Me to Life" is exactly 23 seconds long and imagines that Sully listened to this to build him up in the moment before tackling a landing that could've gone horrendously. 

If you read my first two-episode reviews (Episode 1 and Episode 2), you will know that my response to this season begin with a mix of bemused optimism and uncertainty. I had faith in Nathan Fielder that he would be able to stick the landing...which is the easiest pun I can possibly imagine but I am not here to try to win brownie points for witticisms...and sure, maybe I won't like the direction the next 3 episodes will take.

Somehow, I doubt that. Maybe it'll not end up being the success that the first season was for me, or maybe it will blow me away. All I know is that THIS was the episode that I needed to truly embrace the concept at hand. 

Nathan Fielder essentially created a mini-Sully biopic that had more life and creativity in it than the 2016 Clint Eastwood film starring Tom Hanks. This seemed so apparent that even Vulture's review called it out, and the final result is one of my favorite episodes of TV that Fielder has produced. 

Everything about "Pilot's Code" is a microcosm of what makes Nathan Fielder one of the greatest minds in the entertainment world. It is smart, it is subversive, it is surreal and somehow turns out to be incredibly earnest in its thinking even with it coming across as positively bonkers. He poses theories and analysis on the behaviors of others and in the lunacy of it all, he makes it feel believable at the same time.

Truly quite the accomplishment.