I’ve been doing some flying, which gives me the opportunity to see various movies on that little seat-back screen. And some of these movies have been pretty good:
Logan Lucky. Pure 70s. Kinda like how Stravinsky did those remakes of Tchaikovsky etc. that were cleaner than the original, so did Soderbergh in Logan Lucky, and earlier in The Limey, recreate that Seventies look and feel. The Limey had the visual style, the washed-out look of the L.A. scenes in all those old movies. Logan Lucky had the 70s-style populist thing going, Burt Reynolds, Caddyshack, the whole deal.
La La Land. I half-watched it—I guess I should say, I half-listened to it, on the overnight flight. I turned it on, plugged myself in, and put on the blindfold so I could sleep. A couple times I woke up in the middle of the night and restarted it. Between these three blind viewings, I pretty much heard the whole thing. On the return flight I actually watched the damn thing and then the plot all made sense. It was excellent, just beautiful. The actual tunes were forgettable, but maybe that was part of the design. Like Logan Lucky, this was a retro movie—in this case, from the Fifties—but better than the originals on which it was modeled.
Good Time. I’d never heard of this one. This was the most intense movie I’ve ever seen. Also pure 70s, but not like Logan Lucky, more like a cross between The French Connection and Dog Day Afternoon. Almost all the action takes place in Queens. Really intense—did I say that already?