February 2019 Favourites

I wasn’t sure how much I’d have to say about February, as it’s the shortest month of the year and was a busy one for me personally between projects at work and hanging out with friends. But as I thought it about it, some clear highlights emerged. Here’s a glimpse at what I’ve been watching and listening to this month.

At the Cinema: Never Look Away

February was a big Oscars catch-up month for me, and one of those films that I caught up was Germany’s nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Never Look Away. For the uninitiated, this thing is over 3 hours long, so sitting in the theatre for that long felt like an event in itself. And while I wouldn’t exactly say that the 188 minutes flew by, I did really like the film. I’m also glad that I got to experience it in the theatre setting where you can avoid distraction and submerge yourself in what’s happening onscreen.

Music: film scores

Speaking of Never Look Away, while watching it I really took note of the Max Richter score, which was lovely (even if I didn’t think it was always perfectly congruous with the film itself). This sent me down a wormhole of finding other Max Richter scores, and then compiling a playlist of samples from some of my favourite recent film scores. (If anyone happens to be curious, it can be found here.) All of this also led to the realization that Justin Hurwitz was robbed of an Original Score nomination for First Man. (“The Landing” is a personal fave.)

Podcast: Armchair Expert with Jake Johnson (Feb. 25) and Jason Mantzoukas (Feb. 11)

I’ve been dipping in and out of Dax Shepherd’s podcast, Armchair Expert, for a few months now. Generally I find it enjoyable, though (as with most conversational podcasts) I find the mileage varies depending on who the guest is. This month Shepherd had two excellent episodes thanks to guests Johnson and Mantzoukas. Both are actors I like but never knew anything about beyond what we see of them on screen. In the podcast setting, both proved to be thoughtful, funny, and open guests. If nothing else, listen to Jake’s episode for his story about the time he went to a party at Natalie Portman’s house.

Song: “Harmony Hall” by Vampire Weekend

I love Vampire Weekend, and Vampire Weekend is back with a new extremely catchy, upbeat song. It’s perhaps a bit more straightforward (dare I say “basic”?) than a lot of their previous music, but it’s a promising first glimpse from their upcoming album. And I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I first heard it.

Live Music: James Blake at Sony Centre, Toronto (February 27, 2019)

I devoted a lot of time last month to gushing about James Blake’s new album, Assume Form, and that’s continued to be on heavy rotation for me in February. But the real treat was getting to see Blake live in concert. It was my first time seeing him live, and he actually exceeded expectations. His voice sounded amazing (only aided by the Sony Centre’s great acoustics) and he proved to also be a more dynamic performer than I anticipated. As well as performing most of Assume Form, he made my night by including “Love Me in Whatever Way” from his previous album, and “A Case of You” as a nod to Canadian icon Joni Mitchell. All around a fantastic show.

Top 5 first-time watches of February

1. Never Look Away
2. Free Solo
3. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
4. Incredibles 2
5. Vice

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The Mid-Year Report: Favourite Performances

Which Moonrise Kingdom star will crack my top 10?

1. Mark Duplass, Safety Not Guaranteed – For bringing humour and humanity to a character who could have seemed way over the top, and for damn near breaking my heart in the process
2. Jake Johnson, Safety Not Guaranteed – For not only being hilarious, but also taking a stock character (the douche-y, cocky reporter) and making him someone we care about
3. Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games – For offering a strong, internalized performance to a teen blockbuster
4. Channing Tatum, Magic Mike – For making me a Channing Tatum fan
5. Edward Norton, Moonrise Kingdom – For taking a small role and stealing the whole damn movie
6. Jack Black, Bernie – For bringing ambiguity and heaps of charm to a character who should be black-and-white
7. Brie Larson, 21 Jump Street – For playing a hugely charming love interest and being genuinely funny in her own right
8. Chris Hemsworth, Snow White and the Huntsman – For once again playing the macho leading man while still balancing the physical requirements with humour and warmth
9. Aubrey Plaza, Safety Not Guaranteed – For proving she has the charisma and acting chops to be an offbeat leading lady
10. Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman – For bringing the wrath and just generally being fierce

Honorable Mentions: Woody Harrelson in The Hunger Games (for being his usual sassy self, and also hinting at the dark undertones of Haymitch), Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street (for working together brilliantly), Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (for making a fetching pair and elevating otherwise light material), Dane DeHaan in Chronicle (for making a highly charismatic leading debut), Gina Carano in Haywire (for kicking ass and offering up menacing on-screen presence), Matthew McConaughey in Magic Mike (for saying “alright, alright, alright” a couple dozen times).

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Over the past year or so, it seems like we’ve seen a lot of small movies about big, visually challenging concepts that are usually reserved for studio flicks. You know – the end of the world, space travel, the creation of the cosmos. That kind of stuff. And now, Sundance darling Safety Not Guaranteed tackles a similarly sci-fi-inspired theme. But while it might be about time machines and time travel on the surface, like all indie movies of this kind, it’s not really about any of that.

Let me explain. In Safety Not Guaranteed, Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) plays Darius, an anti-social magazine intern who gets assigned to help investigate a man who claims to be seeking a partner for time travel. “WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before” is all the personal ad reads. So, Darius goes with fellow intern Arnau (Karan Soni) and reporter Jeff (New Girl‘s Jake Johnson) to investigate this man, Kenneth (Mark Duplass), who they plan to write a magazine article about. Just like Darius, we’re not sure if Kenneth is crazy, or if there is any truth to his claim. But strangely, it almost doesn’t matter. Safety Not Guaranteed is much more about friendship, love, and regret than it is about a time travel. And as a result, it’s actually a pretty beautiful little movie.

The real strength of this movie is the relationships. First-time screenwriter Derek Connolly does a brilliant job of interweaving the different dynamics of his characters and making their friendships and romances seem natural. Whether it’s Jeff trying to find Arnau some action or Darius’ tentative friendship with the unstable Kenneth, these characters feel like real people because of the way they bounce off each other. The dialogue for the most part feels natural, and this helps prevent the strange premise from bogging the movie down in pure quirk.

Of course, it also helps to have performers who can bring believability to the roles, and director Colin Trevorrow certainly lucked out in that department. Mark Duplass is heartbreaking, funny, and genuinely sweet as Kenneth, who is as innocent as he is caustic. Duplass easily could have gone for an over-the-top performance here, but, as anyone who’s seen any of the films that he and his brother Jay have directed together will know, Duplass looks for the truth in his characters, no matter how strange they may be. One of his real strengths as an actor is in delivering natural-sounding monologues, and he has a couple unlikely, beautiful ones here.

Jake Johnson also delivers an unexpectedly moving performance as Darius’ snarky boss, Jeff. Initially, his character seems to be a pretty standard-issue movie prick, but as we learn more about Jeff, Johnson has the ability to show off some real acting range. As broad and funny as Johnson is in the early scenes of the movie, he becomes emotionally vulnerable in just as big of a way as the movie goes on. He’s not only bitingly funny, but he can communicate so much with a simple facial expression. The result is a scene-stealing performance that suggests big things to come from Johnson.

Despite its grand premise, there’s not a lot to Safety Not Guaranteed. However, there is a real sweetness that I found irresistible. From the gentle humour to the indie rock soundtrack to the montages to the heartfelt performances, everything just fell into place perfectly. And while love and loss may not be novel concepts in Hollywood, this movie has such a pure heart and genuine optimism that it completely won me over. It never really feels cloying, though. The relationships feel genuine and grow organically, and because of that, Safety Not Guaranteed completely enraptured me.

8.5/10