Dear Imaginary Reader:
Racial hypnosis, red shoes and black sails, Jim Carrey and Tyler Perry.
“Get Out” (Jordan Peele). Finally got to “Get Out”- and it got to me. There’s nothing much I can add thematically to its point – other than that you might be surprised at the racist crap this “white Hispanic” has to hear during incursions into certain supposedly liberal circles, so I can’t even imagine how black people feel in those situations. Except now I can, because they made a movie about it!)But stylistically? I feel people don’t praise Peele’s direction enough! And it’s only his debut! Reminded me of the unnerving nightmare state of Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin.” (5)
“The Red Shoes” (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger). The British film industry during the 40s and 50s was about as good as the Argentinean film industry, and nowhere near as good as the Mexican cinema. Other than Luis Bunuel, the Filmstruck / Criterion collections are unaware of this. I’m not saying that they’re missing many Mexican masterpieces. (although one Cantinflas would be cool.) I’m saying British movies of the period were mediocre. Exception: the Powell and Pressburger films, and “The Red Shoes” in particular. Second only to “Black Swan” in the very-niche ballerinas-gone-crazy subgenre. (5)
“Black Sails” Season 2. Halfway through Season 2 of “Black Sails” comes a genuinely brilliant plot twist (you thought there were no more of those?) that is simple and obvious and yet makes us reassess everything we thought we know about some of the main characters of “Black Sails,” the very underrated pirate prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,” and easily the best thing to have the words “Produced by Michael Bay” attached to it. (5) 
“Tonight’s the Night” (Neil Young). Phenomemal boozy night at a bar with a great, mad, sad band. I love the way “Borrowed Tune” pours out into its “Rolling Stones” admission. (5)
“Inspector Lewis” Series 3. I love me a cozy whodunit, but I should make sure never to watch “Inspector Lewis” in too close a proximity to its immediate ancestor (“Inspector Morse”), or to “Inspector George Gently,” or to “Midsomer Murders” for that matter, cuz honestly they just sort of blend into one bloody British blur. (4)
“The Whole Truth” (Courney Hunt, “Frozen River”). A great little legal thriller with Keanu Reeves and Renee Zwellwegger; it will strike many as contrived, but I loved the way it highlights the obvious: if you didn’t see it, don’t believe it. If you saw it, kinda sorta believe it, but not really. The whole truth makes very few appearances in a human’s life. (4)
“Jim and Andy” (Jim Carrey’s method-acting ways during the making of Milos Forman’s Andy Kaufman biopic, “Man On the Moon”) An old episode of “The Simpsons” posited the idea of a fancy “Jim Carrey Retrospective” as an absurd joke. Two decades later, there’s better actors and better comedians, but there is no better comedic actor out there. “Jim and Andy” documents the fact. (4)
“Madea Goes to Jail” (Tyler Perry). Judge me not, lest ye make Madea take off her ear rings and show you some righteous prison-chapel anger. What happened was that “Madea Goes to Jail” showed up on cable, I felt too slothful to reach for the remote, and I watcheth. There are enough good intentions in this preposterous melodrama that I eventually gave in to the scoliosis-inducing tone-shifting- and sort of enjoyed it. I think that applies to all of Tyler Perry’s movies. (3)
“A Flying Princess and a Secret Island” (Shinpei Miyashita ). “Arabian Nights” anime for kids, part of a Sinbad trilogy. Unfortunately any carpet flight of fancy is weighed down by under-budgeted animation. A poor man’s Ghibli show. (2)
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