Amy Wren Watched What? January 6-12, 2025

The Brutalist (2024) - Directed by Brady Corbet
Right from the start, as the "Presented in VistaVision" card is shown, I was hooked on this film. And you know what? It never let up. Okay, it let up for the intermission, which yes, this movie has. But once that was over, it just caught my attention again and did not let up until well after the wonderfully styled credits began to roll. I'm sorry I don't have more to say about this film, and have just been talking about my experience with it, but I just am not sure where to begin and how to explain my feelings on it. It says a lot about America and how it works (or doesn't) and creation in the face of horror and so many other things and I feel like if I actually tapped into what I want to say about it we'd all be here for another 493 paragraphs at least. So instead, I'll just cut it short and say if you get a chance to see this film, take it!

The Sugarland Express (1974) - Directed by Steven Spielberg
Although Duel is generally considered Spielberg's feature film debut, it was originally a television movie. As such, this was his first theatrical release. With that in mind, there's a confidence to it that is shown by how the complicated scenes involving dozens of cop cars and extras and a whole bunch of moving parts all come together. And though it feels almost New Hollywood or Coen Brothers Lite than full blown Spielberg, it still has plenty of his touches, particularly visually. Throw in his first time working with John Williams, and a great performance by Goldie Hawn, and you've got a damn fine picture here.

Shivers (1975) - Directed by David Cronenberg
This movie was shot for $179,000 (just over one million dollars today), and it looks it. However, like so many horror films, it gets a lot of bang out of those bucks. Watching this, you can see the disgusting places Cronenberg will go with films like Videodrome and The Fly. For sure, his body horror fascination is on display in this one. I had a good time with this one, when I wasn't cringing in disgust.

Nadia, Butterfly (2020) - Directed by Pascal Plante
What do you do when the thing that was your life (in this case Olympic level swimming) is over and done? That's the question on the mind of this film that I really liked. For better or worse, the titular Nadia is played by Katerine Savard, a professional swimmer with her own bronze medal from the Rio Olympics. Although her acting is good, but not great, she brings a verisimilitude to the character that works really well. And I really dug the ponderous pace of the film as she goes about her days after her competition is done. And it's surreal to ponder a 2020 Summer Olympics in a world where Covid didn't happen.

The highlight of the film, however, is the relay race. We watch the entirety of it close in to Nadia, as she awaits her turn on the final leg of the race. Throughout it, we don't know who is leading, or where the Canadians are currently placed. We just see what Nadia is seeing, as she focuses on what she is about to do, and what she is doing once she jumps into the pool. It's an exciting scene that is all the more powerful because of how short it is.



Other Movies Watched

Duel (1971) - Directed by Steven Spielberg
We watched this along with his Columbo episode and both hold up really well. This tense ride is a great start for Spielberg's career

Do you have thoughts about the movies on this list? Want to share what you watched last week? Join the conversation in the comments!

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