Good time for a late 2021/early 2022 movie dump. I'll start with PIG (Hulu). Quite frankly the best movie I've seen in a few years and I can't believe I'm saying that. I didn't know anything about it but had been hearing great things about Cage and how nuanced and restrained his performance is (it is both of those things and also quite delicate). It's a quick film too - clocks in at right around and hour and a half. It's definitely a character study and deals with some big themes through his point of view (love, loss, grief, isolation) and his effort to get his stolen pet/companion pig back. It does have him racing through the backdrop of the Portland restaurant/foodie scene too which is fun for foodie types (myself included). I don't want to give too much away because I think the last act is tremendous, but highly recommend the movie and think Nic Cage is Oscar bound again this year. Just a lovely, moving performance and terrific film.
Next up is Power of the Dog (Netflix). Also highly recommend. It's written/directed by Jane Campion, so it's very pleasing to look at; the camera just marinates on the beauty of everything. For those who don't know, the plot revolves around two brothers (Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons) who run a ranch in Montana. They're well to do and comfortable until George (Plemons) upsets everything by marrying a widower and having her (Kirsten Dunst) and her son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) move in. Phil (Cumberbatch) is especially upset with this move and makes life hard for George's new wife and son (who is quite effeminate). The first half of the movie sort of plods along with Phil finding new ways to torment his brother's new family, but things pick up in the second half and when the ending hits you'll likely want to watch again for everything you missed.
We also watched The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson and as much as I wanted to love this movie, which is told as a series of vignettes from articles in the twee-est newspaper imaginable, the sum is less than the parts. There are couple of pretty good vignettes though - the one about the convicted artist (Benicio del Toro) who finds an unlikely muse in the form of his beautiful captor (police officer played by stunning Frenchie and Bond girl Lea Seydoux - who leaves nothing to the imagination here....) - is my favorite. The others are funny and charming but often go on too long. Many of the Anderson hallmarks are present including Bill Murray, but even for Anderson the film is really self-indulgent and probably two vignettes too long. I think it's fine, but unless you're a massive Anderson fan, you might find this a bit tough to sit through (after the Seydoux vignette that is...which thankfully happens very early in the film).
Finally, in anticipation of the Oscars we watched Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut The Lost Daughter (Amazon Prime). It stars Olivia Colman as a college professor/writer who takes what she hopes will be a quiet 'working' vacation on a beach in a little Greek town, but she runs into a family on vacation (from the US, and likely involved in some 'organized' activity) and becomes friendly with the daughter, played by a shockingly stunning Dakota Johnson. Johnson has a small daughter and through them you start to learn about Colman's past and her difficulties and struggles with motherhood (which is not something you see very often in this format). It's sometimes very hard to watch (especially as a parent), but the performances are top notch and you really have no idea what will happen from one scene to the next. Great film and stand out performances by Johnson and Colman (dare I say the best living actor??). Highly recommend.
Still need to get to Dune, The Worst Person on Earth, Annette, C'mon C'mon, Belfast, and some others. I also saw the Princess Diana film Spencer but don't have the energy for a review at the moment - still parsing it....