Mike Goes To Movies

Little Women (2019) Going in to see Little Women was an open slate for me. I have not read the classic novel and so I did not have the preconceived feelings and pretensions that many hold for this beloved story prior to seeing this new adaptation. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this film. Despite the novel being written more than one hundred and fifty years ago its story of family, hardships and triumphs and loves lost and gained is one that is still as relatable today as ever. And much of that is thanks to the story's inspired retelling by its formidably talented writer/director, Greta Gerwig. Over the past decade Gerwig has proven herself to be a vanguard of Hollywood's new triple-threat elite. Adapting a story as old as Little Women is no easy task. In order to successfully reimagine the story for today's ilk, one must tackle an older style of plot structure, language and human dynamics as found in the novel in order for us to fully connect w...

Midsommar (2019) It's a bit of am odd paradox that I think that Ari Aster is one of the finest directors and paragons of modern horror, while at the same time recognizing that I haven't been able to get fully on-board with either of the films he has made thus far. I appreciate the rave reviews that were behind Hereditary, however, as a full package, I felt the film lacked a certain something (maybe I'll dive into this in a full post later...). And, in a quite similar vein, I absolutely wanted to love Midsommar - and there was a ton that I did thoroughly enjoy - but the total end package of the film, again, left me wanting something a little more. Midsommar is about a group of friends who travel to Sweden to observe a summer festival that turns out to be more of a horrifying pagan-cult celebration. It takes a lot of cues from the classic film, The Wicker Man, but smartly does not rely upon the predecessor and it quickly creates a unique story unto itself. Foremost in t...