Some Dude Reviews Movies

I've always kept Spike Lee at a distance. When I was younger, I was always a little intimidated by his politics. Or, rather, what I saw (at the time) as radical racial politics. I've come a long way since then. I've learned a lot since I was young. And I have just recently begun going back to Lee's seminal early works to see what "the big deal was all about." It turns out that I was very foolish. That I had kept from myself the work of one of America's auteur filmmakers. Give me a slice of humble pie. I'll have it a la mode . 1989's Do the Right Thing  is often heralded as Lee's greatest work. So I watched it. I. What Is It? This is the story of the hottest day of the summer in the Bedford-Stuyevsant neighborhood of New York. As the temperature rises, resentments fly, and hidden tensions in the neighborhood reach a boiling point. II. Art This is a piece of art, through and through. Spike Lee's dialogu...

I had heard about Portrait of a Lady on Fire  (2019). I'd heard it was good. Heard it was erotic and powerful. It has a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers used words like, "stirring," and "thought provoking." Those words are like cinematic catnip to me. Then, last week, I read that it would begin streaming on Hulu. And, amid the great coronavirus lockdown, with ample free time, I talked to the wife about it, and she said, "Oh yeah, I want to watch that, too." So we did. I. What Is It? Marianne (Noemie Merlant) is sent to paint a young woman (Adele Haenel) without her knowledge. The two women begin to spend time together, and their relationship blossoms into something new. This is the story of a painter and her reluctant subject. It is a story of womanhood and love and friendship. And loss. II. Every Frame A Painting This is one of the most stunningly crafted films, from a photography perspective, that I have see...