Best First Watched: November 2024
Two years ago, I was really good about posting a reflection on the best first watches from the previous month. That much cannot be said for this year. It’s December and I have not posted one single reflection. Better late than never, I guess. Why not start in the last month of the year?
Conclave
I did not grow up in a religious family at all. Some of the family members on the outskirts (aunts, uncles, etc.) go to church every week, but I think I’ve only been a handful of times. Conclave, on paper, does not sound like a movie that would interest me. I can’t say I’m particularly intrigued by the going-ons of the Catholic Church when it’s electing a new Pope. I was wrong! I love the messy, gossiping Cardinals in their fancy little outfits in their beautifully ornate buildings. Above all else, I love drama and mess.
Another movie that on paper sounds like the antithesis of what I enjoy. I’m not what one might call a fan of experimental cinema. I blame it on the time I accidentally got a ticket to see Jean Luc Godard’s The Image Book, despite not knowing anything about what Godard was about. Dahomey is an experimental doc about the return of artifacts to modern-day Benin. I would say it’s a good experimental flick for those of us who might still be traumatized by accidentally wandering into a Godard movie.
Is opera good? I think Pablo Larraín should spend his days making movies about famous women who have been seen more as a persona than a person.
Elizabeth Olsen is a movie star and it’s time the world recognizes that. Free her from her Marvel prison and let her make more indies!
The Last Showgirl
I find it very interesting to watch an older actor who has essentially grown up in the industry star in a film that speaks to what is likely their current feelings about fame. As much as I don’t like Tom Cruise and don’t think he’s a particularly good actor, he’s quite touching in Top Gun: Maverick because he’s reckoning with the fact that he’s not immortal. To me, Top Gun: Maverick and The Last Showgirl have a lot in common. Both are centered on fading glory and the end of an era for people who are larger than life.
What I discovered while writing this article is that I did not watch any movies for pleasure this month. I mean, I did, but it’s not like Hot Frosty was making this list. See you next month!
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