movies movies 24 | EXPRESS | 12.02.2016 | WEEKEND
FOCUS FEATURES AND THINKSTOCK IMAGES (EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION)
ALSO OPENING
KRISTEN PAGE-KIRBY | THE REELIST
Benefit of doubt: It’s OK to wonder if you got it wrong I have a Post-it note stuck on my computer that just says “context + evidence.” That’s to remind me of what I’m supposed to be doing when I write these columns. At its most basic, this space is for me to share my opinions about movies, while Twitter is where people inform me that said opinions are wrong. However, I do try to do more than the basic — and that’s what the Post-it is about. Context and
evidence are the two things any critic (or, really, anyone sharing an opinion) should bring to the table. I look at context as the horizontal axis of opinion, in that the opinion holder should have a certain breadth of knowledge. Evidence is the vertical; it uses specific examples from the medium in question to bolster an opinion. Anyone who isn’t bringing both to the table isn’t making a cogent argument. They’re just subjectively spouting off. That said, it’s also part of the critic’s job to subjectively spout
off. Underneath all the evidence and context lies simple opinion. And sometimes I get a little worried that Twitter is right. Take “Arrival”: I thought it was a fine movie. I thought Amy Adams was fine in it. I thought “Nocturnal Animals” was fine. I thought Amy Adams was fine in it. But it seems everywhere I turn, both movies and both performances are being heralded as Oscarworthy. And I … don’t get it. It confuses me to hear “Arrival,” “Animals” and Adams being discussed as some of the best that film had to offer this year because, fundamentally, all of them left me cold. I can offer arguments as to why, but it boils down to the fact I simply didn’t like them much. They are the equivalent of my usual Subway order: It’s fine and I’ll eat it, but really only to fill space. That opinion doesn’t make me wrong in the World of Film Criticism, but it does make me
an outsider, a role I’m not particularly comfortable playing. It makes me wonder if I missed something, or if I somehow responded to the films in the wrong way. I think it’s important, though, that I feel like this from time to time: It reminds me that opinion is what links evidence and context together, and opinion is what makes discussing film so much fun. If those of us who love talking about movies relied only on objectivity, we’d be ignoring emotion, which is what movies exist to produce. My thoughts on “Arrival” shouldn’t separate me from someone who loved it; in fact, our views can bring us together for a deeper discussion. Thinking someone is wrong about a movie — and admitting you might be wrong, too — is OK if it leads to the right kind of conversation. Read Kristen’s previous columns at washingtonpost.com/thereelist
MUSIC
Looks like ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ season got an extension this year Mariah Carey is set to ring in 2017 with a live performance in Times Square as the headliner for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” on ABC. Carey will take the stage just before the ball drops. Also on the lineup: pop band DNCE, Thomas Rhett, Gloria Estefan and the cast of her Broadway musical, “On Your Feet!” (AP) FX orders pilot for “Mayans MC,” a “Sons of Anarchy” spinoff
‘The Duelist’ R, 110 min.
Set in Tsarist Russia, Yakovlev (Pyotr Fyodorov) is a retired veteran who re-emerges as a duelist for hire. As a beautiful period drama, this film boasts costumes, but the brilliant, large-screen format is in service of some pretty grisly business. “The Duelist” will leave viewers scratching their heads over any number of questions, but the most gnawing one might be: Why did everyone get so dressed up for a bloodbath? STEPHANIE MERRY (THE WASHINGTON POST)
‘The Eyes of My Mother’ R, 76 min.
This slender narrative follows a young woman (Olivia Bond) who is presumably off her rocker from having witnessed her mother (Diana Agostini) being murdered, thus growing into a thrill-killer herself. But with strange effects and plot holes, this spare screenplay feels illogical and offers precious little in the way of psychological insight. MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN (TWP)
Neil Diamond announces “50 Year Anniversary World Tour,” with Baltimore stop at Royal Farms Arena on June 9