Josephine Decker's SHIRLEY (2020)

The great achievement of this dreary work

Is making of Ms. Moss's elfin face

A doppelganger for Ms. Jackson, smirk

And rank untidiness and all, but pace

The famous savages who wore her down.

Instead we get some newlyweds to share

Their home, two cute young things who quickly drown

In melodrama, but I couldn't care

About them and their sexy, sexy scenes. 

I'd rather a straight biopic, though, than this --

And Moss and Stuhlberg sure would be the means

To make this happen! But this here's a miss.

The look of things was right; I'll give it that. 

But otherwise? It's just not where it's at.

Rian Johnson's KNIVES OUT (2019)

Distracted by Dan Craig's ridiculous

And southern drawl, I almost didn't catch

The brilliance and insanity 'twas thus

Displayed, script-wise! I should have grabbed a snatch

Of clue that Rian Johnson made this pile 

Of craziness. The whole ensemble caused

Sheer excellence. We think that, all the while, 

We know whodunnit, but ere long must pause. 

Though oft the fun is watching as the sleuth

Learns what we know, it isn't always so.

I'm trying not to give away the truth

As we saw, as concludes that game of Go.

This film is perfect. Only Parasite 

Was better, and the diff'rence, was but slight!

Paul Thomas Anderson's THE MASTER (2012)

Joaquin looks like an album cover now 

(Specifically King Crimson's if you must

Know which) and I just can't account for how

I'm not to be distracted by this. Trust

Me, though, that he performs quite well, here, too!

Ol' PSH and Amy Adams hold

Their own with him, but have to hold on through

A hurricane e'en on dry land. I'm told

This film is based on something that attracts

Some lawsuits, but it's really not about

That church so much as how are formed those pacts

Of co-dependency. I do not doubt

They got mad anyway. This film is fine;

It's got the look right. Kudos on design!

Bjorn Engstrom's TANGENT ROOM (2017)

An acting workshop, cleverly disguised
As some stoned  physics student's lamest thought
Experiment, just slightly stylized
Should not be watchable, yet here we've caught
A right rare'un. I won't say I sat on edge,
My pulse a-pounding, but neither did I fall
Asleep, at any rate, or so I'd pledge;
No one was watching me. We cannot call
This bloated, as films go, at least; it's lean
On cast and set and story, true lo-fi
Sci-fi, or maybe student work. That's mean
But that's most what this felt like. You and I
Could better spend our time than watching this,
Unless we'd spend it watching the abyss.

Oliver Parker's SWIMMING WITH MEN (2018)

Who knew that toxic masculinity

Could be so simply cured? Though I'll admit
The cases in this film were actua'lly
Quite mild to start with. Still, I'd say that it
Is heartening to think that just chlorine,
Some goggles and some sweet dance moves could make
A difference like this on any scene.
I love the "sad old bastards slowly shake
Their blues away" take on a story, and
I'll always watch Rob Brydon and, too, the
World Treasure that's Jim Carter, on the land
Or in a swimming pool. There's lots to see
And like, including the best training cuts,
Like when Ms. Riley says "let loose those guts!"

Armando Ianucci's THE DEATH OF STALIN (2017)

O Ianucci, could you ever fail?

The evidence so far says surely not!

And even though our thigh slaps turn to wails

Of shock and horror, watching people shot

To "keep the peace(!)", still we laugh loud and long

At yet another stunning combo: script

And perfect improv. I can only long 

For when this crew takes on the 45th

White House. Meanwhile, I think Buscemi could

Hold on with Malcolm Tucker. Some things must

Be roundly mocked, if only for the good

Of humankind. Though, when the filmic dust

Is settled, one thing would improve the lols:

If Beale and Tambour could have swapped their roles. 

Mika Kaurismäki's THE GIRL KING (2015)

Christina, Queen of Sweden, long has dwelt

Rent-free inside my head, e'er since I read

Of her in my Horizon mags. I felt 

A little more a rebel, in my head

For knowing she had lived. And Garbo brought

Her e'en more forward, so my standards for

A film about her are perhaps too high. 

There's some to like,  here, sure, but there is more

To who she was and what she did, than (sigh)

Her Countess. There's some quite good dialogue

At least, and all looks pretty, as it should.

It's not a bad film, though; it's not a slog. 

Is that enough, though, that I'd call it good?

Her odd upbringing isn't shown at all, 

Nor post-crowned life. Not sure 'twas their best call.

Andrea Arnold's WASP (2003)

It's maybe widely known that glamor's not
A feature of a single mother's days.
Well, here we get a concentrated shot
Of what that life can wreak upon her, gaze
Upon her squalor, and then watch her lie
When some old flame just spots her in the street.
From then the bad decisions seem to fly
Right at us, and the consequences meet
Us almost ere the mistakes can happen. This
Predicament is often played for laughs,
But here it's simply squalid, sad and hits
Us in the gut. Some clever edits graph
Trajectories of tragedy. We sweat
With Zoe's oldest daughter most, and fret.

Wash Westmoreland's COLETTE (2018)

I do not often like Miss Knightley, yet
I must admit, in this she's without flaw
As that wild woman we know as Colette,
A writer-dancer-actress worth our awe.
Dom West can barely keep up with her, which
Is as it should be. And the others cast
In many roles reflect quite perfect pitch
(Except for Tomlinson, but, at the last
'Twas really just the accent). All the art
Direction met our standards for this fare
Called Costume Drama, and the movie's heart
Is right where it belongs. If you would share
In awesome on this level, check it out,
Then write some saucy fiction and don't pout!

Dexter Fletcher's ROCKETMAN (2019)

He still is standing after all this time, 

And it's sure fun to see a version of

His story that's as flashy, fun and wild

As Elton John's stage shows. Of course we love

The songs, and Taron sings them very well

And he's a sensitive, expressive face

That pairs up nicely with one Jamie Bell

(I want him as Ray Davies ere our race

Burns out its fuse). A playful fantasy

With brief, dark moments, seems exactly right, 

As do the costumes. If this had to be

A movie, at least keep it moving, bright 

And soulful, like Sir Elton's greatest tunes. 

I guess that's why this film kept making news.