Random Thoughts of a Movie Insomniac: June 2025

 It's been a while since I have done one of these but let's check on a few movies I watched recently.  Im actually reading more and so that is what I spend a lot of my free time doing.  That and listeing to podcasts and watching YouTube reviews and reactions on older movies.  Been working a lot too so I don't get a chance to watch a lot of new things .

The Materialists

Celine Song’s follow up to her Oscar nominated feature Past Lives features Dakota Johnson in a love triangle with a nice rich Pedro Pascal and a poor but nice Chris Evans.  A fantasy I’m sure many people would want to be involved with.  While this does feature Dakota Johnson’s best work since Suspiria (2018) and the chemistry between her and her male leads(Evans and Pascal) are very good.  Many of the film’s messages and themes were better executed in her first film.  It’s almost feels like this is her debut film but it’s not.  The Materialists is still a very good movie and if this is your introduction to Celine Song you wont be disappointed but Past Lives is better.

 

Bound

Lana and Lilly Warchowsi’s debut film about an ex con(Gina Gershon) and a gangster’s girlfriend(Jennifer Tilly) and their scheme to rip off the mob in this very stylish thriller.  Bound can be seen as a great homage to film noir, a lesbian exploitation feature, a movie with strong gay characters that are not just the clichés even though some may argue that they are.  I feel like no matter if you are straight, gay, bi, poly or trans.  This is a damn good movie with an amazing script and well written characters. As much as I love The Matrix, I would rather watch a full trilogy of movies with Corky and Violet(Gershon and Tilly’s characters) way more than Neo and Trinity of their more popular Sci-Fi Franchise.  Featuring a great performance by Joe Pantoliano as Caesar(the main guy they are stealing from).  This is a movie that still manages to hold you in it’s grasp many years later.   The 4K Criterion Collection features a great audio commentary from the cast and crew that was recorded in 1997. 

 

F1

Went to an advanced screening of F1 - The Movie, the new movie from director Joseph Kosinski and he does for race cars what he did for fighter jets in Top Gun Maverick. There are some incredible shots of cars on the track that are very impressive.  Not since Ronin or Death Proof have I seen real cars on screen shot so extremely well.  Watch this on the biggest screen you can because you will be awe struck on the visuals as I was.  Now while the racing sequences are a lot of fun, the story itself is very basic.  Brad Pitt’s character gets hired by Javier Bardem’s to help his auto company’s race team win the grand prix and to help mentor the newest hot shot driver, played by Damson Idris.  What you get is the usual tropes about old vs young.  They will spend a good portion of the movie arguing but will end up as good friends.   But wait, where is the love interest for Pitt’s character?  Let’s shoehorn in a girl for Pitt to become involved with and while Kerry Condon is good in this movie.  There really was no need for this to be a sub plot.  Especially in a movie that is two hours and forty minutes.   

 

 

Speed Racer

After watching F1  I immediately went home and watched the live action adaptation of Speed Racer.  This hyper stylized frenetic masterpiece from Lilly and Lana Warchowski is an absolute treasure to behold.   Based on the anime of the late 60’s.  This was a critical and box office disappointment but has gone on to become a cult classic.  I remember watching this in theaters and being bombastic with the different visuals and colors . It was like a sugar caffeine overload happened in my brain and I loved every minute of it.  While most people had issues with its tone or the way it was shot.  Speed Racer does have a good story about being true to yourself and not change your core values. Even if it will cost corperate sponsorship.  It also has a great message about how indie film directors get seduced by the glitz and glam of studio features.  There is a great episode by Patrick H Willems that explains why Speed Racer is the most important movie of the  21^st Century and he goes into way more detail than I can about this misunderstood classic.

I'm a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association.  Read my bio below.

https://mnfilmcriticsassociation.com/2024/09/25/jasonhemming/