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Movie Theater

Micro-Reviews 2024(0)

December 23, 2024

Collecting Micro-Reviews originally published on Instagram, Mastodon, and Letterboxd.

Conclave

Edward Berger’s 2024 Conclave

Thoroughly enjoyable movie with some weaknesses.

Ingmar Bergman’s 1963 Tystnaden

“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”

Ridley Scott’s 2024 Gladiator II

It’s not great but it’s good. It’s entertaining. It’s fine!

Architecton

Viktor Kossakovsky’s 2024 Architecton

Not much to chew on beyond impressive cinematography, music, and sound design.

Performers

New Counterpoints: “Musica do Brasil Meets ‘Save the Rainforest’” | SEP 29, 2024

Fantastic concert with ace performances of Brazilian folk/art songs and Neue Musik compositions.

Tristan und Isolde

Bayreuther Festspiele 2024: Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde by Þorleifur Örn Arnarsson and Semyon Bychkov

Some nitpicking, but that didn’t take away from the overall experience, which was awesome.

Mahler 5

Tonhalle: Mahler 5, Bansal, Haydn

Two great symphonies and a commission that were thoroughly enjoyable.

Mistakes by the River

Wei Shujun’s 河边的错误 [He bian de cuo wu/Mistake(s) by the River]

Welcome to Wei’s postmodern neo-noir period mystery rabbit hole.

The Zone of Interest

Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest

An extraordinary movie that is, and should be, deeply disturbing.

Dune

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Dune: Part Two

A treat you don’t want to miss.

Quatuor Ébène (Photo Julien Mignot)

The Quatuor Ébène String Quartet at Robert-Schumann-Saal, Düsseldorf

Another thoroughly enjoyable string quartet experience.

The Fifth Element

Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element

A collection of enormously silly adolescent fantasies, but entertaining.

Septembersonate

Manfred Trojahn’s Septembersonate by Johannes Erath and Vitali Alekseenok

A chamber play with a chamber orchestra focused not on dramatic events but internal torments.

Sammlung Philara (click to embiggen)

Sammlung Philara: “What Is Steady Anyway?” & “Artichoke Underground”

If this kind of art is your thing, Freeman & Lowe’s Artichoke Underground will knock your socks off.

How Do Y'all Live?

Miyazaki Hayao’s 君たちはどう生きるか [How Do Y’all Live?]

Seven years of development are more than enough for a script to lose focus.

Perfect Days

Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days

If, at the end, you don’t know whether to be joyful or sad, you’re in good company.