The Fabelmans (2022)

A nice collection of vignettes on the power of the stories we see and show (highlights include Uncle Boris’ rant on family and art and the confrontation in the school hallway–“Why’d you make me look like that?”), not to mention some fun looks at the ins and outs of filmmaking (see the perfect–well, eventually–final shot). Amidst the compelling family drama, though, the central character arc could’ve used a few more incising elements like that shot where he imagines himself shooting his own life.

7

Meek’s Cutoff (2010)

Appropriately slow–this survival western pulls no punches, and by punches I mean achingly long scenes of walking across barren landscapes, because there’s a lot of them. And they’re loaded with feeling: short in-between scenes lay out the stakes and ratchet up the unease and distrust, and then the journey (captured with poignant music and visuals–see that breathtaking long cross fade early on) continues, and in the film’s boldest stroke of all, it doesn’t end, just like it never began.

8

Dick (1999)

Story of two girls who wander away from a White House tour and meet President Nixon. (IMDb)

The splash of ditzy teen girl naivety (Williams and Dunst perfect the parts with plenty of Napoleon Dynamite-esque geekiness to go with the shrieks and giggles) amidst the no-nonsense world of politics is uproarious, and even more so as the leads start to get wise (“It’s too much pressure!”) and confident (see the perfect final scene: “You suck, Dick!”). The exaggerated 70s setting offers more to enjoy (see their ridiculous outfits, Carl’s hairpiece, and the disco soundtrack) in this fun comedy.

7.5/10 (Really Good)