Ant-Man

2015, US, directed by Peyton Reed

After the large-scale destruction of the various other Marvel movies we consumed recently, Ant-Man was refreshingly smaller in scale -- and while the film shows some development executive fingerprints it still retains at least some of the less conformist approach taken by its original script team. Whatever their origins, there are also several highly enjoyable set-pieces, notably those that play with onscreen/offscreen narration, as well as a sense that there is at least a superficial level of character development.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

2015, US, directed by Joss Whedon

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

2014, US, directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

Captain America: Civil War

2016, US, directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

Lost in La Mancha

2002, UK/USA, directed by Keith Fulton & Louis Pepe

One of those films where you wonder at the sheer volume of self-incriminating material committed to tape/film at the time -- the filmmaking process here has a kind of dual aspect, with the actual film accompanied by a filmed reflection on that film as it evolves or, in this case, fails to evolve. The sense of an unraveling dream is quite unnerving, though it's never entirely clear exactly how the plug gets pulled -- it just all somehow falls apart, just as it all somehow seemed to come together at the beginning with a variety of financiers and other players. Gilliam, for his part, is remarkably sanguine most of the time -- deeply committed to his vision, and infectiously enthused by the few moments they do manage to commit to celluloid, but perhaps naive that the whole thing could have worked at all.