5 Months, 5 Films

Hello, my fellow film buffs! I am sad to say that May has seen an incredibly mediocre collection of films release, to the point where I’ve only seen a couple this month, which do not really have the substance required to write one of my famous socially conscious (if slightly pretentious) film reviews.

With this in mind, I will instead just talk about five films from this year that I feel have not gotten the respect they deserve. No larger message, no shenanigans, just pure film appreciation.

January: Love Lies Bleeding

Technically I didn’t see this film in January, but the alternative was the Netflix film Lift, so we’re going to go by the premiere date for this month. January is always a rocky month for cinema. Love Lies Bleeding was super fun, though. Unapologetically queer with a nostalgia-bait ‘80s aesthetic that I am always a sucker for, this film is just a fun crime mystery. Kristen Stewart nails her performance as Lou, with a performance that could single-handedly save the film, and the soundtrack is just as awesome as you’d expect from an ‘80s inspired movie.

February: Lisa Frankenstein

I’d be lying if I said the prospect of a rom-com starring Cole Sprouse piqued my interest when I first heard about it, but Lisa Frankenstein just may have been the most fun – and my personal favourite – film of the year. This isn’t to say that it’s the best from a critical standpoint; there were some technical flaws in the film’s direction. But Lisa Frankenstein has such a tangible cult-classic feeling in the style of Tim Burton’s playful take on horror concepts. I absolutely recommend it to just about anybody.

March: Late Night With The Devil

This is the best film of the year so far, hands down. It’s a shame that public perception of it has shifted since release, but it’s more a shame why it has shifted; this film utilizes AI art (in minor ways) for in-film graphics. I’ve given the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt, considering how the conversation around AI art has shifted, but it’s still a scary precedent.

…Here I was saying that I wasn’t going to bring up the socio-political context of the movies we consume. Anyways, LNWTD is a must-watch. The concept of framing an entire film through the screen of a ‘70s late show is so refreshingly genius, and this film uses the device of horror to depict this framing perfectly. One of the most innovative modern horror flicks I’ve ever seen, LNWTD gets high ratings with me in every single aspect.

April: Abigail

This is the weakest film featured here (mainly because of a ridiculously absurd and unnecessary third act), but I do want to shout out Abigail solely for the joy that is its cast. Abigail is a pretty dumb movie about vampires with a corny lesson about family, but I still enjoyed it. Because who couldn’t enjoy a movie starring Melissa Barrera, Kathryn Newton (of Lisa Frankenstein fame), Giancarlo Esposito, and the late, great Angus Cloud. Not a masterpiece by any means, but still a fun film.

May: The Fall Guy

One of the most fun films of this year, and one of my personal favourites, I think there is just something missing about this movie (which stars Cornwall’s own Ryan Gosling) for me to justify dedicating a whole review about it. If I were to make that review, I’d elaborate on Gosling’s excellent chemistry with Emily Blunt, how much I love Winston Duke, the necessity in cinema circles to give more love to the production team behind our favourite movies, and why movies like this are constantly underperforming box office expectations.

But since I don’t have the space to write that whole review, you’ll just have to take those few sentences, as well as the rest of the sentences written about other films from this year at face value. Thanks for reading, and until next month, I think I’ve done an okay job at Keeping it Reel.