Filmic Update: The Squid and the 28 Secretaries Inside

As I predicted, Netflix and movie-watching have taken over my life. I present you proof of my existence:

The Squid and the Whale (Baumbach, 2005)
So painful it’s funny; so funny it’s painful. The Squid and the Whale is the best movie I’ve seen all year. Writer-director Noah Baumbach’s semi-autobiographical take on his parent’s divorce is brimming with pointed barbs, bravely mocking the very intellectual audience that the film appeals to. The opening sequence of the family tennis match perfectly establishes the family dynamic in a matter of minutes—older son Walt and pompous dad Bernard vs. younger son Owen and mother Joan. This intimate, character-driven dramedy cuts a clear slice of life with its keen insight and sharp wit. It’s one of those movies that make loving movies worthwhile. A

P.S. I don’t understand why people keep comparing The Squid and the Whale with The Royal Tenenbaums. As much as I adore Wes Anderson, he can have all of his funky costumes, anamorphic lens, and big budgets, but he has yet to touch the poignancy of Squid’s biting realism.

28 Days Later (Boyle, 2003)
Honestly, I’m not usually one for zombie movies—schlock horror has never appealed to me beyond “Let’s get scared for Halloween.” But 28 Days Later, directed by the genre-hopping Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, is a genuine fright that electrified me for two hours. The gritty DV gives the film an eerie realism, especially during the shots of an empty London. Cillian Murphy’s blue eyes reflect the startling terror that permeates this multi-layered film. B+

Secretary (Shainberg, 2002)
Love with a kinky twist—that’s the premise of the dark S&M comedy Secretary. Maggie Gyllenhaal gamely turns into the shy Lee Holloway, who returns from a stint at the mental institution to work for James Spader’s domineering lawyer Mr. Grey. Secretary is an office romance that works out better than it should, picking up the dark and the funny but never passing judgment. It’s a bit too bare bones, but the inspired art design and costumes give it a wholly original weight. B

The Sea Inside (Amenábar, 2004)
Melodrama is at tricky genre, and director Alejandro Amenábar fails to temper the melodrama of The Sea Inside into a good movie. About quadriplegic Ramón Sampedro’s struggle to die with dignity, the film hardly focuses on the psychology of the man himself, instead settling to manufacture drama out of Ramón’s surrounding friends and family. Some stunning cinematography hardly makes up for the inert and lifeless direction. D+