Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 4 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

Godzilla Minus One (Minus Color)

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Oscars Nominated:  Best Visual Effects

Genre:  Thriller, Science Fiction, Disaster

Director:  Takashi Yamazaki

Starring:  Ryunosuki Kamaki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki

I already covered Godzilla Minus One last month, but we had slim pickings at the theater this week and I'm fully committed to seeing this movie in every gimmick format possible.  I've already seen it in IMAX, 4DX, and ScreenX, and now the film is ending what was supposed to be a week-long theatrical run that turned into nearly two months with a release of a black and white version.  Normally I don't go for black and white reissues because black and white cinematography requires its own composition and framing itself that a transfer doesn't do justice, but congratulations to Zack Snyder for making his already ugly Justice League movie look like a four-hour grey smudge, I guess.  Godzilla Minus One is an interesting film to do this with, because Godzilla is a franchise that has roots in black and white cinematography, but it also hasn't worked with it since almost its inception.  There is something almost nostalgic about seeing a new Godzilla movie in the format, even if it's not the format proper.  As for the transfer itself, for the most part, it looks good.  Some shots are striking without color, while a large portion of the movie doesn't really benefit by it at all, or looks incorrect, but I'd call it a 60% success.  The praised visual effects work (which it was recently Oscar nominated for) looks pretty handsome in the format, and it even masks some of the film's shakier moments.  I'm more likely to watch the color version again over this, but if I had a print of Minus Color on hand in a home viewing format, it would be a fun triple feature with the original Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again.

Miller's Girl

⭐️1/2

Genre:  Drama, Thriller

Director:  Jade Halley Bartlett

Starring:  Martin Freeman, Jenna Ortega, Dagmara Dominczyk, Bashir Salahuddin, Gideon Adlon

Erotic thriller sees Jenna Ortega playing a gifted writing student who is mentored by teacher Martin Freeman, which Ortega pushes the limits by slowly seducing him.  Miller's Girl feels like a throwback to shitty teen steam movies aimed at youths with exponential hormones, not unlike Cruel Intentions.  It's a movie that has mastered the vibe, but it's ambitions to be trashy and sophisticated at the same time come up short as it leans heavily on the former.  By far, it's biggest strength lies in its two leads.  Ortega has proven herself to be one of the most interesting performers of her generation, and Freeman is an excellent foil for her.  Nothing else about the movie stacks up, though.  Every other character is a wild caricature and the script comes off as self-published erotic fiction.  That's before getting into the shady teacher/student storyline, which toes a line in its problematic nature.  The movie never doesn't portray it as non-problematic, though the idea of the student being a black widow honeypot feels like a tall tale from the "Hey, if she didn't want to be treated like a sex object, why was wearing that?" boomer playbook.  The film was written and directed by a woman, so I have doubts the movie was meant to be enabling to that sexist ideal, but a movie like this really needs to push itself to crawl out of the gutter.  I imagine everyone involved thought it would.  Ortega and Freeman are both above a movie like this.  The fact that they both signed up for it tells me they thought that they could turn it into something elevated.  Unfortunately, they weren't able to.

Netflix & Chill

Suitable Flesh

⭐️⭐️

Streaming On:  Shudder

Genre:  Thriller

Director:  Joe Lynch

Starring:  Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Bruce Davison, Barbara Crampton, Jonathon Schaech

Odd body swap flick sees Heather Graham as a therapist who has a patient who claims his dying father is switching places with him, and soon she begins to have out-of-body experiences as well.  There are worse bodies to have than Heather Graham's, I suppose.  The movie is flamboyant enough to be entertaining, but it's also melodramatic enough to be a complete pain in the ass.  The tone of this movie is weird, because it's leaning hard into a very specific style of horror filmmaking, where it's a macabre psychological drama that's a little cuckoo but exploitive in a more interesting way than the norm.  Suitible Flesh crosses its wires into the tone of a Cinemax softcore mystery seemingly by mistake more often than not, making it a less fun form of sleazy than it's going for.  I wish it worked, but it gets messy when it's all said and done.  Anybody whose lifelong ambition is to see a movie where Heather Graham dryhumps fully clothed every ten minutes or so will be in heaven, though.

Oscar Nominees

20 Days in Mariupol (N/A)

The ABCs of Book Banning (N/A)

The After (N/A)

American Fiction ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

American Symphany (N/A)

Anatomy of a Fall ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

The Barber of Little Rock (N/A)

Barbie ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Bobi Wine:  The People's President (N/A)

The Boy and the Heron ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

El Conde (N/A)

The Color Purple ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Creator ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Elemental ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Eternal Memory (N/A)

Flamin' Hot ⭐️⭐️1/2

Four Daughters (N/A)

Godzilla Minus One ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Golda ⭐️⭐️

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Holdovers ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Io Capitano (N/A)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Invincible (N/A)

Island in Between (N/A)

Killers of the Flower Moon ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Knight of Fortune (N/A)

The Last Repair Shop (N/A)

Letter to a Pig (N/A)

Maestro ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

May December (N/A)

Mission:  Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Năi Nai & Wài Pó (N/A)

Napoleon ⭐️⭐️1/2

Nimona ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ninty-Five Senses (N/A)

Nyad (N/A)

Oppenheimer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our Uniform (N/A)

Past Lives ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pachyderme (N/A)

Perfect Days (N/A)

Poor Things ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red, White, and Blue (N/A)

Robot Dreams (N/A)

Rustin (N/A)

Society of the Snow (N/A)

Spider-Man:  Across the Spider-Verse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Teachers' Lounge (N/A)

To Kill a Tiger (N/A)

War is Over!  Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (N/A)

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (N/A)

The Zone of Interest (N/A)

Movies Still Playing At My Theater

American Fiction ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anatomy of a Fall ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Anyone But You ⭐️1/2

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ⭐️⭐️

Barbie ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

The Beekeeper ⭐⭐1/2

The Book of Clerence ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Boy and the Heron ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Boys in the Boat ⭐⭐⭐

Frued's Last Session ⭐️⭐️1/2

Godzilla Minus One (Minus Color) ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Holdovers ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I.S.S. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Killers of the Flower Moon ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Mean Girls ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Migration⭐️⭐️1/2

Night Swim ⭐️

Oppenheimer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Past Lives ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Poor Things ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spider-Man:  Across the Spider-Verse ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanksgiving ⭐️⭐️1/2

Wonka ⭐⭐⭐

New To Digital

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ⭐️⭐️

Ferarri ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Migration⭐️⭐️1/2

Night Swim ⭐️

Wish ⭐️⭐️1/2

Coming Soon!

Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 3 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

The Beekeeper

⭐️⭐️1/2

Genre: Action

Director: David Ayer

Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, Jemma Redgrave, Bobby Naderi, Philicia Rashad, Minnie Driver

Why, yes, I was wondering what Jason Statham's own personal Commando would look like, thank you.  That's something every action hero owes their audience, where it's them versus an army and somehow the army is outgunned and left embarrassed.  Or you could be Steven Seagal and be boring by making it the only movie you make instead of your masterpiece.  Statham has a lot of movies where he can just plow through the competition, but never quite on that level where he makes it through without a scratch because hell yes.  The Beekeeper sees Statham as a retired secret operative called "the Beekeeper," who retired to live a life as an actual beekeeper, which makes sense.  After a friend of his kills herself after being scammed online, Statham follows the money trail to make the bad guys pay the Jason Statham way.  I guess that's as good a plot as any.  Those going to see Statham kick faces will be very enticed by this movie, because the action is excellent.  The script is probably less so, with what exactly a "Beekeeper" is being a bit too vague to the point where it's just a generic buzzword (lol buzz) to make the bad guys identify him as being a badass with one word.  At the same time, we do meet another Beekeeper in the film, and her role in it is disappointingly brief to the point that she could have been cut out.  It's a tease of this idea that is never elaborated on that frustrates, especially when we have similar movies like John Wick that explore these ridiculously elaborate worlds beneath their simple premise.  But it's all just probably an excuse for bee puns.

The Book of Clarence

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: Comedy

Director:  Jeymes Samuel

Starring:  LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, R.J. Cyler, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch

It's kinda Life of Brian, but heavier and with racial subtext.  The Book of Clarence tells of the brother of Thomas, one of Jesus's Apostles, a non-believer who tries to get himself out of debt by posing as a new messiah as a street hustle, though he begins to find himself and his faith through his deceptions.  I'm not sure if I should look too deeply into the idea that these brothers' names are Clarence/Thomas, or what this movie is trying to say through that implication, assuming it's not a weird coincidence, but here we are.  The movie is very humorous in nature, but seriously put together.  It's a good looking movie, with great sets, nice cinematography, and excellent actors.  It's a comedy that looks like a lavish biblical drama.  It takes its presentation very seriously, I'd assume to really work it's themes of finding guidance even through persecution.  It's an interesting movie, and while it's not really what you would call "ha ha" funny, it's satiracle undertones keep it amusing even as it's story gets dark (because if we're doing a Jesus story, you have limited options of how to end it).

Cult Killer

⭐️1/2

Genre:  Thriller

Director:  Jon Keeyes

Starring:  Alice Eve, Antonio Banderas, Paul Reid, Shelley Hennig

Antonio Banderas gets paid for two days work so this thriller can put him on the poster, which otherwise sees Alice Eve searching for the woman who killed him, and gets elbow deep into a sex cult that she has been murdering.  The small glimmers of potential are what eat at me the most in this movie.  Alice Eve is a solid lead, and her interplay with Shelley Hennig actually masks the movie's lousy screenplay at times.  Eve and Hennig are close to building something interesting out of this, but there is only so much that they can do.  Cult Killer is a movie that really wants to delve into a Girl with the Dragon Tattoo style thriller that are underlined by the trauma of the main characters, though Cult Killer can't seem to tell the difference between utilizing trauma for characterization and almost fetishizing it.  Even if that wasn't an issue, the movie has a habit of grinding to a halt for a flashback featuring Banderas, just to remind us that he was on the poster.  These flashbacks are only minimally relevant and add nothing to the film, only ensuring the movie is 100 minutes long instead of 90.  Every once in a while, the movie does something interesting or even good, which is usually Eve or Hennig's doing, but it almost feels by accident.

Founders Day

⭐️⭐️

Genre:  Horror

Director:  Erik Bloomquist

Starring:  Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Emilia McCarthy, Olivia Nikkanen, Catherine Curtin

New holiday, new serial killer.  This slasher flick sees a masked killer who kills around a local town's Founders Day celebrations, and at the center is a young woman whose girlfriend was the first victim and finds everything circling back to her.  Like last year's Thanksgiving, Founder's Day is a detailed recreation of 80's slasher movies.  Unlike Thanksgiving, its tone is more inconsistent.  I often wondered if it was satire, and the movie would at different times either nod enthusiastically at me or just stare blankly and shrug its shoulders.  But there is no way the filmmakers made this particular movie without knowing what movie they were creating, because Founders Day's vision for itself seems so specific, so I can only conclude that it wants to be both earnest and goofy at the same time.  Whether they succeeded in balancing the two is up to the viewer, though I'm inclined to find the movie fumbles the ball with it.  I encourage the effort, though.

Freud's Last Session

⭐️⭐️1/2

Genre:  Drama

Director:  Matt Brown

Starring:  Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode, Liv Lisa Fries

I've got an original idea for a drama:  an atheist and a Christian debate each other.  Freud's Last Session is a movie based on the idea that famed psychologist Sigmund Freud might have met Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis before he died.  Not that he did, mind you, just that he might have.  The movie sees Lewis paying a visit to Freud several weeks before his suicide, as they discuss theology, war, sexuality, and other fun topics that surely won't create butting heads.  Fans of the playlet style of two-guys-in-a-room will find interest value in the idea of what might have happened if these two figures shared a space, and Freud's Last Session could potentially scratch that itch.  The movie isn't bad, it just becomes clear that as it goes on that it's not necessarily going to go anywhere of value.  Neither figure will give any sort of leeway on their topics of discussion and neither really goes on any sort of character journey, which seems like it should be important for a character piece.  There is a small arc about Freud potentially coming to terms with his daughter's homosexuality, but it feels overshadowed and never really blossoms.  In fact, the constant side-scenes and flashbacks only make the film feel fragmented.  It's well-cast, though.  Anthony Hopkins is magnificent as Freud, and Matthew Goode holds his own against him as Lewis.  It's a movie that's more compelling in theory than in practice.

I.S.S.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Genre:  Science Fiction, Thriller

Director:  Gabriela Copperwaite

Starring:  Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Maria Mashkova, Costa Ronin, Pilou Asbæk

A group of American and Russian astronauts work together peacefully on the International Space Station, only to be blindsided when nuclear war breaks out below.  Each team receives orders from their government with a clear objective:  take control of the station by any means necessary.  The premise isn't so different from a movie that us MSTies saw on Cinematic Titanic called Doomsday Machine, except somebody actually had a budget to finish this one and made a movie that was actually good.  I.S.S. is an exquisite potboiler thriller set in a confined space with a condensed cast full of characters who are unprepared for the situation and don't know who to trust.  The film is a slow-burn film in a confined space and little context for what is happening outside their area, which may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found the film a tense examination of paranoia based around characters in a dangerous environment, each with limited information and with their only trusted sources being the thoughts in their heads.  Despite the film's exploitations of the U.S.'s rising tensions with Russia, the movie isn't actually political, instead being a character driven story of people who are separated from the politics and are torn by an unexpected order, which leads to complicated and messy results.  It leads to a finale that refuses to take a side, instead showing that the people of a country do not represent the leaders who bring them into conflict.

Mean Girls

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: Comedy, Musical

Director:  Arturo Perez Jr., Samantha Jayne

Starring:  Angourie Rice, Renee Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Christopher Briney, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Jenna Fischer, Busy Phillips, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows

Confession:  I have never seen the original Mean Girls.  I've heard it was good, but it came out at this awkward time when I was fresh out of high school and saw a high school movie centered around popular girls and I was like "no thanks."  I found out much later that my childhood crush, Lacey Chabert, was in it, which probably would have changed my mind.  But I wasn't going back to it as a man in my 30's just to see a girl I thought was cute because that would be weird and creepy.  Besides, I obsess over Jenna Coleman now.  Lacey's still fetch, but not as fetch.

(Yes, I have a type, shut up)

Mean Girls fans already know the story of Mean Girls, which sees a new girl half-assemilated into the popular girl clique and the weird outsider clique, as she goes on a quest for revenge against the most popular girl in school.  It's basically a tale of alpha dogs who dress in pink.  This version of the story is based on the Broadway musical adaptation that reimagined the story as a rock opera.  The songs are cool and catchy, while the choreography is mostly pretty good, though at times very oddball.  The cast is the real winner, with just about everyone perfectly suited for their roles, including Moana herself, Auli'i Cravalho.  I wouldn't say I was wowed by it, but if you like the original and dig musicals, it's probably worth a watch.

Art Attack

All of Us Strangers

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Genre:  Drama, Fantasy

Director:  Andrew Haigh

Starring:  Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Clair Foy

One of the most interesting dramas of awards season sees an emotionally closed-off writer who starts a relationship with a man in his apartment building, but also begins to see visions of his dead parents at the same time.  The film is based on a Japanese novel called Strangers, which in turn was already adapted into a Japanese film called The Discarnates, and from my understanding the original material leans more into...not exactly horror, but is a bit more macabre than the film seen here.  All of Us Strangers decides to leave some of the more disturbing elements of the metaphors it plays with at the door, choosing instead to be a fantastical tale of a lonely man who lives inside his head.  It maintains the story of a man who is haunted by traumatic events and using the supernatural to move past them.  The idea is porwerful, as we see him sitting down and having conversations with the people who didn't get to watch him grow up, telling them about who he became and what has happened in the years since.  The romantic plot enhances it because it shows the therapeutic benefit he is receiving from the scenario, as he starts to open doors that he would usually leave closed.  I do quibble a bit with the ending to the romance, which does have an excellent twist to it, but in changing a detail of the ending from the source to make it more bittersweet, the themes of moving past trauma start to deflate as it ends with this character finding a new purgatory of trauma to live inside.  It was a sweet gesture, but it didn't work for me.  Other than that, it's an excellent movie that's well worth watching.

Movies Still Playing At My Theater

American Fiction ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anyone But You ⭐️1/2

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ⭐️⭐️

The Beekeeper ⭐⭐1/2

The Book of Clerence ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Boy and the Heron ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Boys in the Boat ⭐⭐⭐

Godzilla Minus One ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Hunger Games:  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)

The Iron Claw ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mean Girls ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Migration⭐️⭐️1/2

Night Swim ⭐️

Oppenheimer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Poor Things ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spider-Man:  Across the Spider-Verse ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Soul ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trolls Band Together ⭐⭐1/2

Wonka ⭐⭐⭐

New To Digital

The Boys in the Boat ⭐⭐⭐

The Color Purple ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

The Marvels ⭐️⭐️1/2

Next Goal Wins ⭐️⭐️1/2

New To Physical

Journey to Bethlehem ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trolls Band Together ⭐⭐1/2

Coming Soon!

Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 2 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

We had a fun snowstorm this weekend, so instead of taking in The Beekeeper, The Book of Clarence, and Mean Girls, I had to bunker down and keep out of the weather.  I did manage to fit some streaming releases in and hit the theater for one movie.  I'll make up for the rest next week.

American Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre:  Comedy, Drama

Director:  Cord Jefferson

Starring:  Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown

This offering for awards season sees Jeffrey Wright playing a well-educated and literate author who struggles at selling books, likely because he is a Black man who's writing isn't "Black enough."  As a goof created from frustration, he writes a book about violent street toughs that he considers a replica of best-selling trash that white people buy to "understand the real Black experience," but is blindsided when it actually becomes a universally acclaimed bestseller.  It's not exactly a new type of story, it's kinda sorta The Producers, but American Fiction looks through its subject through so many different lenses in an empathetic light that it feels like an all-encompassing look at art creation and consumption.  It's primarily a story told from the point-of-view of a struggling artist, who's outlook roasts the publishing industry and the audience it panders to, and how art can be compromised for the sake of making money.  At the same time, we also glimpse at his personal life struggles, and how making that money can actually help, even if it doesn't ease his frustrations.  Surprisingly, the movie doesn't stop there, also criticizing those that critique by turning the spotlight on Wright's own judgments, showcasing that even if a work can be scrutinized for being for mass consumption, there are also layers and effort to a work that those who dismiss it opt to not see.  It's a very thorough exploration of outlooks on the creative process, from those who partake it, judge it, and leech off of it, while also offering an underlining theme of race and stereotype being used for marketability.  American Fiction can at times dip heavy into the drama of its personal life only to snap back into the wit of its parody, and the tonal shift can be jarring, but that's my one quibble for a movie as sharp as this.

Netflix & Chill

Destroy All Neighbors

⭐️⭐️

Streaming On:  Shudder

Genre:  Comedy, Horror

Director:  Josh Forbes

Starring:  Jonah Ray Rodrigues, Alex Winter, Kiran Deol

Mystery Science Theater host Jonah Ray stars in this comedic horror flick about a man who tries to get his neighbor (played by Alex Winter under a lot of heavy make-up) to turn down his music, only to accidentally murder him in the process.  While trying to cover up what he did, he finds his killing spree unexpectedly continuing.  Anybody who has lived in an apartment building can relate, am I right?  It's a funny idea, and Destroy All Neighbors deserves kudos for pushing its off-the-wall, splatstick mayhem, though it is often so manic that it's running in twelve directions in any given moment.  It's unclear whether or not most of the movie is entirely in Jonah Ray's head or if it's some strange supernatural element, because the movie is inconsistent in getting its story across.  Because of that, I found myself more disconnected from the movie than I felt I should be, given how much I love movies like this.  Saving graces include Jonah Ray himself, who is consistently funny throughout, and interesting theme resonance of artistic creation and frustration.  The movie also has some neat little references to Jonah's MST connection, including a girlfriend named Emily (I'm not convinced this is necessarily an MST reference, but it's kind of a funny coincidence if it isn't), and the mantra that MST has lived by since day one:  "Not everyone will get it, but the right ones will."

Role Play

⭐️

Streaming On:  Prime

Genre:  Comedy, Action

Director:  Thomas Vincent

Starring:  Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Rudi Dharmalingam, Connie Nielson, Bill Nighy

Lackluster combination of True Lies and Date Night sees Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco as an assassin who lives a mundane family life when she's not working.  Hoping to spice things up with her husband, they decide to meet up at a hotel bar as "total strangers" and get a hotel room for the night, only to be marked by fellow assassins during their liaison.  Secret action badass spouses is not a new genre by any stretch of the imagination, True Lies being the tip of the iceberg (and also arguably the peak), but it can be quite exceptional if done well, like a Taken or a Mr. & Mrs. Smith.  Or you can just goof it up and go flat like last year's Ghosted.  Role Play feels like it was written by someone who wanted to make John Wick with marital issues, but in translating it to the screen, something just collapsed underneath it.  It's hard to pinpoint whether this is a problem with the script, the direction, or the performances because there is a disconnect between all three of them.  The script seems light on ideas to keep the story rolling, the direction lacks any enhancement of comedy or action to make the movie come alive, and the actors feel like they're giving the minimum of what's required of them but resigned from the entire thing (except Bill Nighy, who is barely in the movie but owns it like a boss).  The result is a limp and lifeless action/comedy that is neither exciting nor funny, and given the subject matter also involves a married couple trying to stimulate each other, it's also lacking in saucy sex appeal.  It takes way more effort to pay attention to than its worth, but if you need noise while you play Candy Crush on your phone, it should deliver that adequately.

Movies Still Playing At My Theater

Anyone But You ⭐️1/2

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ⭐️⭐️

The Beekeeper (N/A)

The Book of Clerence (N/A)

The Boy and the Heron ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Boys in the Boat ⭐⭐⭐

Ferarri ⭐⭐⭐

Godzilla Minus One ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Hunger Games:  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)

The Iron Claw ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mean Girls (N/A)

Migration⭐️⭐️1/2

Napoleon ⭐⭐1/2

Night Swim ⭐️

Poor Things ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Soul ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trolls Band Together ⭐⭐1/2

Wonka ⭐⭐⭐

New To Digital

Napoleon ⭐⭐1/2

Coming Soon!

Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 1 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

Night Swim

⭐️

Genre:  Horror

Director:  Bryce McGuire

Starring:  Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle, Gavin Warren

Budget horror maestros James Wan and Jason Blum opened 2023 with a bang with the horror hit M3GAN, now they're hoping to do it again with Night Swim, which sees a family move into a home with a demonic force living in their swimming pool.  They probably weren't using enough chlorine in their pool.  That would kill off an evil spectre real good, I think.  The thing about a movie like this that is just a horror movie with a mundane object that's haunted is that "a basic haunting" approach isn't going to fly; you need to hook your audience with an approach that makes the idea entertaining or investing.  For example, I thought the movie Smile was going to be stupid, but it actually told a heavy and articulate tale of living with trauma.  Or you can just do something like M3GAN did, embrace the goofiness of the concept and just do something silly and entertaining.  Night Swim has the idea of swimming pool possession and applies the basic horror outline of "family haunted, searches mysterious past of haunting, tries to escape."  There's even a Amityville Horror style "possessed family member" thrown in for good measure.  I kept waiting for Night Swim to do something interesting, engaging, or fun, but it never left they safety of its box.  It's scares are never bold, often going for PG-13 safe splashes followed by a quick cut.  The movie has no style to speak of, though I think it's funny that the pool is often framed like Roy Schieder should be watching attentively off to the side waiting for a shark to appear.  The movie's only interesting setpiece was pretty much played out in the trailers, as a teenage girl plays Marco Polo with a ghost.  The movie doesn't even have an interesting backstory for the pool, opting to brush it off as a "wishing well."  I mean, okay?  That's not nothing, but it's definitely not something, either.  It's a shame.  I like a quirky horror movie and I like the two leads.  The film stars Wyatt Russell, who has fought both Captain America and Godzilla, and Kerry Condon, who for some reason thought the best follow-up to a critically acclaimed, Oscar-nominated performance was to do a low budget horror movie about a killer swimming pool.  There is the possibility that you could have made something with this, but it's more interesting elements (which are admittedly few) are never leaned into, opting to instead play in the shallow end of genre tropes.

Some Other Woman

⭐️

Genre:  Thriller

Director:  Joel David Moore

Starring:  Amanda Crew, Tom Felton, Ashley Greene Khoury

It's the crossover that young adult novel fans of the 2000's have been anticipating for decades, as Harry Potter star Tom Felton and Twilight star Ashley Greene star in this psychological thriller, which has a woman who finds her life slowly changing around her while being followed by a strange woman who seems to be slowly taking over her life.  Elements are present that make me wish this movie was something worth watching.  There's a basic airport novel appeal to the movie, albeit choked with heavy melodrama and a script that feels frustratingly incomplete.  The latter point is a bigger problem than the former, because it feels like it was written as a concept but not fleshed out into an actual story.  There's a difference between being ambiguous and being opaque, and Some Other Woman can't seem to see it.  The movie wants to be such a surreal mindbender that when it comes time to introduce its own logic, it stutters and panics.  There are promising aspects on display:  it's has a fair amount of well-played spookiness in its best moments and Amanda Crew is really good in it as the lead.  I respect that the filmmakers jumped in and tried a thing.  Unfortunately, you can't neglect the faults of your foundation and not look ignorant while the whole structure collapses around you.

Weak Layers

⭐️⭐️1/2

Genre:  Comedy

Director:  Katie Burrell

Starring:  Katie Burrell, Jadyn Wong, Chelsea Conwright, Evan Jonigkeit, Neal Bledsoe

Those who love indie comedies that seem to center around the filmmakers personal interests/hobbies while also coming off as a hangout session with their best friends might want to see if Weak Layers is playing near them.  The film centers on an amateur filmmaker who enters to win a documentary film competition that revolves around a ski town, so she and her devil-may-care friends can afford to find a new place to live.  The movie is rambunctious, if nothing else.  I can just picture it being a work of love by writer/director/star Katie Burrell to just make a movie about the part of the country that she calls home, while also commenting on how outsider creative ambitions can be suffocated by the intimidating professional competitors.  I admire this movie's spirit, and it has interesting themes of imposter syndrome and creative uncertainty.  It's even possible Burrell isn't quite sure what she's doing with this movie creatively either and is just putting something together and seeing what happens.  That might just be projecting a reason behind the film not entirely come together, because it almost has a dysfunctional defeatist attitude about it, but it's conclusion ultimately comes down to waiving off trying to impress the elites and finding joy whatever your stature may be.  It's a casually funny watch for a snowed in weekend.

Movies Still Playing At My Theater

Anyone But You ⭐️1/2

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ⭐️⭐️

The Boy and the Heron ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Boys in the Boat ⭐⭐⭐

The Color Purple ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Ferarri ⭐⭐⭐

Godzilla Minus One ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Hunger Games:  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)

The Iron Claw ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Migration⭐️⭐️1/2

Napoleon ⭐⭐1/2

Poor Things ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trolls Band Together ⭐⭐1/2

Wish ⭐⭐1/2

Wonka ⭐⭐⭐

New To Digital

Eileen ⭐⭐⭐1/2

New To Physical

The Holdovers ⭐⭐⭐

The Marsh King's Daughter ⭐⭐1/2

2023 Cinema Playground Journal Archive (My Cinema Playground)

Week 1 (M3GAN, A Man Called Otto, The Pale Blue Eye)

Week 2 (The Devil Conspiracy, House Party, Missing, Plane, Shin Ultraman, Skinamarink, Corsage, EO)

Week 3 (The Son, Women Talking, Sick, Sorry About the Demon)

Week 4 (Fear, Infinity Pool, Maybe I Do, Living, The Lair, Shotgun Wedding, You People, All Quiet on the Western Front, Turning Red)

Week 5 (80 for Brady, The Amazing Maurice, Freedom's Path, Knock at the Cabin, Broker, True Spirit, Argentina, 1985, Fire of Love, The Sea Beast, To Leslie)

Week 6 (Consecration, Magic Mike's Last Dance, The Outwaters, Triangle of Sadness, At Midnight, Attachment, Somebody I Used to Know, Your Place or Mine)

Week 7 (Ant-Man and the Wasp:  Quantumania, Marlowe, Of an Age, Sharper, Unlocked, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Oscar Nominated Shorts)

Week 8 (Bunker, Cocaine Bear, Jesus Revolution, Juniper, Emily, Linoleum, Nocebo, We Have a Ghost, Aftersun, All That Breathes, Blonde, Causeway, Oscar Nominated Shorts:  Documentaries)

Week 9 (Champions, Children of the Corn, Creed III, Hunt Her, Kill Her, Operation Fortune:  Ruse de Guerre, One Fine Morning, Bruiser, Spoonful of Sugar, A House Made of Splinters, Navalny)

Week 10 (65, The Magic Flute, Scream VI, Southern Gospel, No Bears, Turn Every Page:  The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb, Chang Can Dunk)

Week 11 (Moving On, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Boston Strangler, Leave, The Magician's Elephant)

Week 12 (A Good Person, John Wick:  Chapter 4, The Lost King, Paint, Inside)

Week 13 (Dungeon & Dragons:  Honor Among Thieves, Malum, Spinning Gold, A Thousand and One, Trinket Box, The Blue Caftan, Return to Seoul, Tetris, The Unheard)

Week 14 (Air, Mafia Mamma, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Quiet Girl, Chupa)

Week 15 (Nefarious, The Pope's Exorcist, Renfield, Sweetwater, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, The Lost Weekend:  A Love Story, Kids vs. Aliens)

Week 16 (Beau is Afraid, Chevalier, The Covenant, Evil Dead Rise, Sisu, Somewhere in Queens, Ghosted, Living with Chucky)

Week 17 (Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret., Big George Foreman, Polite Society, Peter Pan and Wendy)

Week 18 (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Hypnotic, Love Again, Showing Up, What's Love Got to Do with It?)

Week 19 (BlackBerry, Book Club:  The Next Chapter, Fool's Paradise, Knights of the Zodiac, Rally Road Racers, Crater, Huesera:  The Bone Woman, The Mother)

Week 20 (Fast X, Carmen, Monica, Róise & Frank, White Men Can't Jump)

Week 21 (About My Father, Kandahar, The Little Mermaid, The Machine, The Wrath of Becky, You Hurt My Feelings, Everything Went Well, Influencer)

Week 22 (The Boogeyman, Shin Kamen Rider, Spider-Man:  Across the Spider-Verse, Sanctuary)

Week 23 (Mending the Line, Transformers:  Rise of the Beasts, The Starling Girl, Brooklyn 45, Flamin' Hot)

Week 24 (The Blackening, Elemental, The Flash, No Hard Feelings, Extraction II)

Week 25 (Asteroid City, God Is a Bullet, Past Lives, The Perfect Find, Unwelcome)

Week 26 (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; Joy Ride; Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken; Nimona)

Week 27 (Insidious:  The Red Door, The Lesson, The Out-Laws)

Week 28 (Mission:  Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Quicksand)

Week 29 (Barbie, The Miracle Club, Oppenheimer, They Cloned Tyrone)

Week 30 (Haunted Mansion, Talk to Me, Happiness for Beginners, Sharksploitation)

Week 31 (Meg 2:  The Trench, Shortcomings, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Mutant Mayhem, Theater Camp)

Week 32 (Grand Turismo, Jules, The Last Voyage of the Demeter)

Week 33 (Back on the Strip, Blue Beetle, Landscape with Invisible Hand, Strays, Bad Things, The Communion Girl, Heart of Stone)

Week 34 (Golda, The Hill:  The Rickey Hill Story, Retribution, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah)

Week 35 (Bottoms, The Equalizer 3, The Good Mother, Never Give Up, The Passengers of the Night, Perpetrator)

Week 36 (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, The Nun II, Blood Flower, Sitting in Bars with Cake)

Week 37 (Camp Hideout, A Haunting in Venice, The Inventor, The Retirement Plan, Elevator Game, Love at First Sight, A Million Miles Away)

Week 38 (Dumb Money, Expend4bles, It Lives Inside, Amerikatsi, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, No One Will Save You)

Week 39 (The Creator, Paw Patrol:  The Mighty Movie, Saw X, Flora and Son, Nightmare)

Week 40 (The Exorcist:  Believer; Shelter in Solitude; My Sailor, My Love; The Royal Hotel; The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial; Pet Sematary:  Bloodlines; Totally Killer)

Week 41 (The Puppetman, V/H/S/85)

Week 42 (Dicks:  The Musical, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Other Zoey, Soul Mates, Night of the Hunted)

Week 43 (Five Nights at Freddy's, Freelance, Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow, Anatomy of a Fall)

Week 44 (Divinity, Lonesome Soldier, The Marsh King's Daughter, Priscilla)

Week 45 (The Holdovers, It's a Wonderful Knife, Journey to Bethlehem, The Marvels, The Killer)

Week 46 (Next Goal Wins, Thanksgiving, Trolls Band Together, The Persian Version, What Happens Later)

Week 47 (Napoleon, Saltburn, Wish, Good Burger 2)

Week 48 (Dream Scenario, Godzilla Minus One, The Shift, Silent Night, Candy Cane Lane, Family Switch)

Week 49 (The Boy and the Heron, Eileen, The Oath, Fallen Leaves)

Week 50 (Wonka, Maestro, The Sacrifice Game)

Week 51 (Anyone But You, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Iron Claw, Migration, Poor Things, Rebel Moon:  Part One - A Child of Fire)

Week 52 (The Boys in the Boat, The Color Purple, Ferarri)

Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 52 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

The Boys in the Boat

⭐⭐⭐

Genre:  Drama, Sports

Director:  George Clooney

Starring:  Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner

One thing I appreciate about George Clooney as a filmmaker is how much of a traditionalist he is, where most of the time he just belts out movies for boomers that remind them of comfort movies they already like.  I mean, I'm one of the few people who appreciated Leatherheads as an artistic exorcise to recreate screwball comedy from the 1930's, even if the film never really hit a high mark in comedy or creativity.  Those wishing for cinema to be distinct and evolved will dismiss movies like The Boys in the Boat because Clooney rarely makes movies that are either of those things, even if he'll sometimes come out with a refined flick like Good Night and Good Luck.  That is leading The Boys in the Boat to a mixed reception, though for the type of cinemagoer that the movie is made to appeal to, those who like a sports movie that's schmaltzy and inspirational, the movie is actually pretty solid.  The film tells the true story of the 1936 University of Washington Junior Varsity men's eight rowing team, who overcame adversity to compete in the Olympic games in Berlin.  There is little about the movie that will stand-out, unless you're all like "Finally, a movie about ROWING!"  The characters don't have a ton of personality that separate them from each other, with most of the screentime going to Callum Turner's rower, who goes through esteem issues and has a lite romantic subplot.  The majority of the movie is pretty straightforward, of coaches throwing inspirational speeches to get these guys to "Row better."  The film feels about the sport more than it is about the people who occupy it, which admittedly is a flawed approach to a movie that wants us to appreciate how much of an underdog these boys were.  However, it occupies the same space that movies like Miracle do, where it honors a legacy without trying to redefine it with flourishes.  We also get to see a moment in history that embarrassed Adolf Hitler.  Who wouldn't appreciate that?

The Color Purple

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Genre:  Musical, Drama

Director:  Blitz Bazawule

Starring:  Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi

Admittedly, it's been a very long time since I watched Steven Spielberg's adaptation of The Color Purple.  I remember it being very good, but I couldn't for the life of me tell you very much about it other than it having Oprah Winfrey, Whoopie Goldberg, and Danny Glover in it.  It did allow me a certain fresh-faced outlook to take in this new version, which retells this story of a Black woman separated from her family in an arranged marriage full of abuse, now with musical numbers!  I'm not entirely sure why this story demanded to be remade as a musical, but the sort of soul gospel tone of the piece actually does lend itself well to it.  It adds to the themes of keeping optimism in the darkest of times, and while I came out with little impression of the music itself, the choreography was certainly quite a treat.  The performances uniformly dazzle as well, though admittedly I'd watch Colman Domingo be an asshole in any movie (I watched eight seasons of Fear the Walking Dead for this man, which was eight seasons too many, but I appreciate that he never half-assed a single second of that show).  I also yearned for more of the numbers to include In the Heights star Corey Hawkins (who was also on a much better Walking Dead show), who stole the show any time he busted a move on-camera.  I think fans of the novel, the Spielberg movie, and the stage musical will be very pleased with this movie, and those experiencing this story for the first time will come out of it very positive on the experience.

Ferrari

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre:  Drama, Sports

Director:  Michael Mann

Starring:  Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O'Connell, Patrick Dempsey

The Ford v Ferrari cinematic universe is here (I assume) depending on who has the balls to make a Henry Ford movie now.  Michael Mann directs this movie about Enzo Ferrari in his quest to make his cars the fastest by any means necessary, while also depicting his tumultuous relationship with his wife while also keeping a son he made out of wedlock a secret from her.  Ferrari reminds me somewhat of Oppenheimer, in that it relies on heavy intense-faced drama to tell its story, sometimes clumsily tripping over itself for what it might claim to be efficiency but actually comes off as indulgence.  Sometimes this is a distraction, but it always seems to bounce back based on its lead performances by Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, and its drama does compel in this story of a man who wants to win at any cost, even if that cost cokes at a reckless disregard for human life.

Movies Still Playing At My Theater

Anyone But You ⭐️1/2

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ⭐️⭐️

The Boy and the Heron ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Godzilla Minus One ⭐⭐⭐1/2

The Hunger Games:  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)

The Iron Claw ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Migration⭐️⭐️1/2

Napoleon ⭐⭐1/2

Poor Things ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trolls Band Together ⭐⭐1/2

Wish ⭐⭐1/2

Wonka ⭐⭐⭐

New To Digital

Dream Scenario ⭐⭐⭐

The Holdovers ⭐⭐⭐

Killers of the Flower Moon ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Silent Night ⭐⭐⭐

Thanksgiving ⭐⭐1/2

Trolls Band Together ⭐⭐1/2

Coming Soon!