tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71842624652507081302024-03-26T20:05:02.492-06:00MST3K, RiffTrax, and BeyondWelcome to my blog dedicated to movie riffing! Here we will journey through the many episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the files of RiffTrax, the DVDs of Cinematic Titanic, and hopefully many others.
Join me, won't you?David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.comBlogger652125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-43553809515391906322024-03-24T15:16:00.000-06:002024-03-24T15:16:32.457-06:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 12 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div><br /></div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyodm1YhovTzNf8PFFt7u6oXUXhlX_b_DxcwbkOXWctf17O2VS5ILX5CZq6jiuHVjYxHlFasnFdu5XReDjh5oAin5GJesx3z83yRRgYdFArgZquaxVbwJjrxXVZMiDFmG6UpkkfM-bzHpVcuya8qX-L3EoMS80UcTCKxZcLpg6Jki_FkpZo6sGnxg2MoHc/s1482/MV5BNGE5MWJmZWYtN2ZlMi00ZjY1LTlhYTUtMzQ2Y2IxZWQyYTA2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyodm1YhovTzNf8PFFt7u6oXUXhlX_b_DxcwbkOXWctf17O2VS5ILX5CZq6jiuHVjYxHlFasnFdu5XReDjh5oAin5GJesx3z83yRRgYdFArgZquaxVbwJjrxXVZMiDFmG6UpkkfM-bzHpVcuya8qX-L3EoMS80UcTCKxZcLpg6Jki_FkpZo6sGnxg2MoHc/s320/MV5BNGE5MWJmZWYtN2ZlMi00ZjY1LTlhYTUtMzQ2Y2IxZWQyYTA2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire</b><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror</div><div>Director: Gil Kenan</div><div>Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckeena Grace, Kumall Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celest O'Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6hjlyknlTaw" width="320" youtube-src-id="6hjlyknlTaw"></iframe></div><br />I'm pretty much resigned from the idea that Ghostbusters will ever be the great franchise that it probably had the potential to be. I let a lot of that attachment go when Harold Ramis passed away and it was clear that if the franchise came back, it would have to reconfigure itself. Which it did. Twice. Both with very, shall we say, <i>colorful</i> discourses about their approach. People will have their preferences as to whether the 2016 reboot or the legacy sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a better movie, but it fully depends on what you'd like Ghostbusters to lean into. The 2016 sided pretty heavily into madcap slapstick comedy, and while it worked in places (and in others it failed miserably, but that's an entire other conversation that I won't get into, because that movie remains a hot button topic for some stupid reason), that's not what made the original Ghostbusters work. The first Ghostbusters was an apocalyptic fantasy movie that had comedy derived from the idea that blue-collar shlubs were the ones who stumbled into it and saved the day. It was very Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in that manner. Afterlife was a closer approximation of this, though blending it with an homage to an Amblin-style rural kids fantasy is questionable, but that movie is better than it should be.</div><div><br /></div><div>Afterlife wound up being the chosen route by Sony Pictures, and here we have Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which takes place three years after Afterlife and now the Spengler family and their friends have taken up the mantel of Ghostbusters in New York City. Exactly how or why they did this is unknown, because they lived in Oklahoma and the last time I checked, the Ghostbusters business had been shut down for decades (not to mention ghosts only seem to break out when something apocalyptic is afoot, so business ebbs and flows anyway). I'm not even sure why they would want to be Ghostbusters, either. I get why Paul Rudd would, because he's a Gen X fan boy, but why is Carrie Coon here? I don't have any impression as to why this business would interest her. Why is she allowing her kids to do this? And now New York just happens to have a regular ghost problem again, after decades of not needing Ghostbusters? This is a lot to imply happened in between movies that Frozen Empire just waves off. But I digress, even though I'm ten minutes in and my inner screenwriter is pulling his hair out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Accepting <i>all of that,</i> Frozen Empire sees the discovery of an orb that contains another demonic entity bent of spiritual chaos, which of course gets unleashed as the film goes on so the Ghostbusters can save the day. It's the Ghostbusters formula of the first two movies that Afterlife sidestepped, which could be a positive or a negative, depending on your point of view. On the plus side, this is a comfort food storyline that is adequately entertaining for Ghostbusters veterans, but it's also same-old-same-old for those who think the only good movie is the first one (or none at all, but those people probably shouldn't be watching the fifth Ghostbusters movie if they don't like Ghostbusters). The movie feels muted and through-the-motions, with a couple of inspired moments along the way. Mckenna Grace, who is the best thing to happen to this franchise since 1984, continues to shine, and she has a subplot with a ghost girl that is cute and charming. The movie's comedy is also successfully funny most of the time, it's just drowned out with mundaneness and pandering references. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly goes wrong with this movie, because elements of it feel like the correct ones, displaying a Ghostbusters movie that feels like it's what a Ghostbusters movie should be, but does so without much (if you'll pardon the pun) spirit. If you're going to coast for the ride, the movie will prove to be a solid, popcorn-munching time, but as the case for making more Ghostbusters movies, it doesn't really sell itself.</div><div><br /></div><div>MST3K Cast Note: Patton Oswalt has a supporting role in this film.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPF5z1RHYLXOAaRQk_V3GFBMF3IynoODBNggGAqgt0i6xRAYRvVGVN2-_oVDYFL6Q3FM7xnL01GNVzVp2k_ETDaqmD1Ajosw8rMFlyhNzleTMKgS4ZwQfI3aGwPF3MO5GE8Kp7LA8woI58I207Np5X6hSUJJqr7dTrH0VgT8L0pY3MsztSeOKc1TZitvMb/s1481/MV5BNmYyZGQzM2YtYTY3My00NGE5LWIzMmQtMDIxMTFhMGIxZDhhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY0Njc2MTUx._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPF5z1RHYLXOAaRQk_V3GFBMF3IynoODBNggGAqgt0i6xRAYRvVGVN2-_oVDYFL6Q3FM7xnL01GNVzVp2k_ETDaqmD1Ajosw8rMFlyhNzleTMKgS4ZwQfI3aGwPF3MO5GE8Kp7LA8woI58I207Np5X6hSUJJqr7dTrH0VgT8L0pY3MsztSeOKc1TZitvMb/s320/MV5BNmYyZGQzM2YtYTY3My00NGE5LWIzMmQtMDIxMTFhMGIxZDhhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY0Njc2MTUx._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Immaculate</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Michael Mohan</div><div>Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Alvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Georgio Colangeli, Simona Tobasco</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/11gb7q1tosI" width="320" youtube-src-id="11gb7q1tosI"></iframe></div><br />Sydney Sweeney stars as a nun who joins a special convent that tends to dying and mentally unstable nuns. This being a horror movie, there is of course a dark secret beneath all of this. There is a little bit of a "Stop me if you heard this one..." quality to this movie. I mean, scary things happen to a nun. This is hardly an original premise in horror, because a nun is a symbol of purity and they have a perfect antagonist in devilish devices. Immaculate is a movie that feels like it wants to be the most efficient example of this, but isn't quite up to the task. The movie is wildly inconsistent about what kind of horror movie it is, switching between psychological shocker, geek show body horror, and "Boo!" jump scares. The result is a boring movie that sometimes intrigues but often is just screaming at you. As the movie plays out, it becomes understandable as to why it would present itself this way, and while its final revelation is interesting, it doesn't really fall into justification for the horror around it. It's an unnerving idea, but there are extremities about everything surrounding it that feel like being grotesque for the sake of being grotesque. I mean, this is a convent, and they are openly doing horrible things with little thought or care. It seems you've probably lost the plot in your "service to God." I understand that this is the point, but it's also not a well developed one. It just becomes a movie where bad things are going on under a saintly roof because they feel like it, and that makes whatever promising aspects of the premise there may be feel like a lost cause.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrDnsYTsX1S9nXaDFHtdYrZr1cTa-G0hMO9RIAgfzx4ghsjzeJct0xwNotAPabIYvAoloJxTlqE5tfdV-iFGvzoxiQLgPP9saWILIi46oh1sx59wroyAYRndVsk8xUbRrroxFr31cHceexNp-6UJOFC0R2uwVv-LT5yPEvjTUoSdElJCxQeITWe8GCrEE/s1500/MV5BZTAxN2Q3MjctMDk5ZS00NGRmLWE3ZmEtODNhMTE3YTkyZTNhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY5ODI4NDk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrDnsYTsX1S9nXaDFHtdYrZr1cTa-G0hMO9RIAgfzx4ghsjzeJct0xwNotAPabIYvAoloJxTlqE5tfdV-iFGvzoxiQLgPP9saWILIi46oh1sx59wroyAYRndVsk8xUbRrroxFr31cHceexNp-6UJOFC0R2uwVv-LT5yPEvjTUoSdElJCxQeITWe8GCrEE/s320/MV5BZTAxN2Q3MjctMDk5ZS00NGRmLWE3ZmEtODNhMTE3YTkyZTNhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY5ODI4NDk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Late Night with the Devil</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes</div><div>Starring: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YeKYfneOH3o" width="320" youtube-src-id="YeKYfneOH3o"></iframe></div><br />This indie horror film had been riding hype waves for months (only to face backlash at the last minute after it was revealed that the filmmakers used AI art in the film), and it's finally hitting wide release for a small theatrical run before hitting Shudder in the near future. Late Night with the Devil gives David Dastmalchian a long overdue lead role as a late night talk show host who puts on a Halloween show devoted the supernatural. His special guests: a psychic, a skeptic, and a presumably possessed girl. It's a movie that hams it up with its late night influences, working hard with that comfort atmosphere of stale jokes and performative pandering only to unfold into something spookier as it goes. For the most part, the snowball effect works. It does an impressive job of balancing the campy and the intense, being both silly and earnest at the same time, though it tends to slip up in balancing the theatrical with the gritty. It might have done better if it had slowly let go of the former in favor of the latter toward the end, but it always seemed to have a death grip on keeping that talk show tone throughout. Because of that, the horror elements can have a hard time breaking through because the movie both wants to treat them seriously and unseriously at the same time, which feels like a missed opportunity to take such a comfort format and tear it to shreds. But the film is buoyed by a fabulous performance by Dastmalchian and young co-star Ingrid Torelli, which makes it a fun, spooky watch for a evening viewing.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgEc3DKwmkYoXYd5EfAzLl0Dg9CipIk49kaYPZPy4xG3CPE_CeYcs3n8_Z50Wc3wqJWoEul5J__LsEA-2QxRbaQWQvPCxKtM-tyAzRtziM-iUpHgciypc4i3GeGdhuxorAzfgBFX8pnH74zJaDKrXG5YRJW_z38ad3w3utVF3WsnxdQ9VB432Ws8r2ahS/s1500/MV5BODQ4MTAwOTgtMjY3OS00YWFjLWJkYmMtMDI5MjA1OThiNTE3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjk1Njg5NTA@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgEc3DKwmkYoXYd5EfAzLl0Dg9CipIk49kaYPZPy4xG3CPE_CeYcs3n8_Z50Wc3wqJWoEul5J__LsEA-2QxRbaQWQvPCxKtM-tyAzRtziM-iUpHgciypc4i3GeGdhuxorAzfgBFX8pnH74zJaDKrXG5YRJW_z38ad3w3utVF3WsnxdQ9VB432Ws8r2ahS/s320/MV5BODQ4MTAwOTgtMjY3OS00YWFjLWJkYmMtMDI5MjA1OThiNTE3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjk1Njg5NTA@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Problemista</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Comedy</div><div>Director: Julio Torres</div><div>Starring: Tilda Swinton, Julio Torres, RZA, Greta Lee, Catalina Saavedra, James Scully</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zbsk4okRUds" width="320" youtube-src-id="zbsk4okRUds"></iframe></div><br />Writer/director/star Julio Torres is an aspiring toy designer who finds his work visa threatened but may find his only savior with eccentric artist Tilda Swinton, as he struggles to wrangle in her erratic behavior just to stay afloat. Torres creates a film through a lens of expressionistic imagination, as he infuses a lot of flourishes throughout the narrative based on how his main character feels through his inner anxiety. It's a film that gets off on its own quirkiness, and it can tend to overwhelm. That overwhelming nature is part of the point, because it metaphorically stands as a piece about how anxiety pushes itself on us during those days where we are uncertain about our lives. Tilda Swinton toes a line between being hilarious and infuriating, though it's practically a perfect performance. It's also the exact thing the movie needs to fully work, because of how large her personality is, fueling it's metaphor.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZ2fsuESqXCZSUYcvjDX_P-GGCnFnrf56CF_Oa939SNLVFNCaNF8Ec5Zqdnp218fandIm3EE0-zmuuxc0A0f8NxhB1H75ABqEO3ok1SBmR8mS6aoBrRplKnwEMdTQocXfCzwGOYkzuFZg8t8hwXoPa8a8laydaAPdtJpO5HSiekmaeK7u9uAHnkvwvjuu/s1481/MV5BNTFiNTMxNTQtM2EzOS00NWNhLWFmNzctNjU5ODIzNDIzMzYzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjkwOTAyMDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZ2fsuESqXCZSUYcvjDX_P-GGCnFnrf56CF_Oa939SNLVFNCaNF8Ec5Zqdnp218fandIm3EE0-zmuuxc0A0f8NxhB1H75ABqEO3ok1SBmR8mS6aoBrRplKnwEMdTQocXfCzwGOYkzuFZg8t8hwXoPa8a8laydaAPdtJpO5HSiekmaeK7u9uAHnkvwvjuu/s320/MV5BNTFiNTMxNTQtM2EzOS00NWNhLWFmNzctNjU5ODIzNDIzMzYzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjkwOTAyMDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Road House</b></div></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Streaming On: Prime</div><div>Genre: Action</div><div>Director: Doug Liman</div><div>Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Austin Post, Conor McGregor</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y0ZsLudtfjI" width="320" youtube-src-id="Y0ZsLudtfjI"></iframe></div><br />Remaking Road House is a towering task. It's not like remaking a normal movie. Normally, there are certain qualities a film can have that makes it beloved, and while recreating them is challenging, there are ways to go about it that can create something fresh and enjoyable out of a new experience. Road House is different. The things people love about Road House are so unique to this one particular movie that is objectively awful, but so much fucking fun to watch. That movie is a perfect storm of machismo horseshit done in such a campy way creating a movie that you just sit in your seat, drinking a beer, and nodding to yourself "Yeah, fucking Road House, yeah."</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPg9LU5CoR8JNl9rWacof3dptqmepwe1s1lb9IQEvX1FkMBBw5nsdKqSW-_k1Q2QJPaW7v3fKLa58VuUkvdy5f4kDsRkPjDj0a2Bvvp28nd_SEPg67b248ABouxfvDF1-U7PyZE668YZtRW2MQWnOe21T-gWKSgvSTr6Nw9uhYj6emT89Sy2ZqsM3Qhsef/s200/200w.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPg9LU5CoR8JNl9rWacof3dptqmepwe1s1lb9IQEvX1FkMBBw5nsdKqSW-_k1Q2QJPaW7v3fKLa58VuUkvdy5f4kDsRkPjDj0a2Bvvp28nd_SEPg67b248ABouxfvDF1-U7PyZE668YZtRW2MQWnOe21T-gWKSgvSTr6Nw9uhYj6emT89Sy2ZqsM3Qhsef/s1600/200w.gif" width="200" /></a></div><br />Now we finally have a remake, which switches up the machismo horseshit with a different kind of machismo horseshit, turning Road House away from being a trasy 80's VHS classic and rejiggers it into something for the Fast & Furious generation. It's a pick your poison situation. Instead of Patrick Swayze, we're given Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays a former UFC fighter who is hired as a bouncer to chase off thugs who have been terrorizing a roadhouse in Florida, but sees the situation escalate when it links to a real estate scheme trying to shut the place down. The film downplays the original's camp value, but is very embrasive of its cheek. Surprisingly, this movie doesn't try to replicate any of Swayze's iconic one-liners, opting to give Gyllenhaal his own. Gyllenhaal's aren't as memorable, but he does keep the film upbeat and light. The action sequences are still laughably absurd, but done in a showier manner. These are things that might turn off a loyal Road House viewer, because the authentic Road House experience will always be the original. But I feel there is also a sect of Road House lovers who will accept that the original lives in the 80's, while this is pretty much what the modern Road House can and should be. I did feel like I went through the Road House wringer during this movie, which leads me to believe it's a success.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-11.html">The American Society of Magical Negroes</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-11.html">Arthur the King</a> ⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-10.html">Cabrini</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-9.html">Dune: Part Two</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-10.html">Imaginary</a> ⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-10.html">Kung Fu Panda 4</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-11.html">Love Lies Bleeding</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Luca ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Bob Marley: One Love</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Land of Bad</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qqrpMRDuPfc" width="320" youtube-src-id="qqrpMRDuPfc"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y0xlCIqZ5UM" width="320" youtube-src-id="Y0xlCIqZ5UM"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-81062802232635109392024-03-17T11:16:00.000-06:002024-03-17T11:16:00.187-06:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 11 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTKKfqQ8B85YQC1O8EORzJMrBHNFMfiXPKLVDlAWapP5XeXXL5m6TzLYv2sjO7tUNirR84fdq-CvZOprtdlBlssv8B65K7e8hFUp618wJL6Z7zdk7fLHjvJzl370yhfJaenGzn5UJ9fW83FdefrjXmuJHRfUVUvHlhKYklicrGtLpwJZulpQNriLD5oyY/s1481/MV5BYTY5MDQ0ZDItMTU3Ni00ZGZhLWJjODctMjI4NTljZmUwYTZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTKKfqQ8B85YQC1O8EORzJMrBHNFMfiXPKLVDlAWapP5XeXXL5m6TzLYv2sjO7tUNirR84fdq-CvZOprtdlBlssv8B65K7e8hFUp618wJL6Z7zdk7fLHjvJzl370yhfJaenGzn5UJ9fW83FdefrjXmuJHRfUVUvHlhKYklicrGtLpwJZulpQNriLD5oyY/s320/MV5BYTY5MDQ0ZDItMTU3Ni00ZGZhLWJjODctMjI4NTljZmUwYTZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The American Society of Magical Negroes</b><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy</div><div>Director: Kobi Libii</div><div>Starring: Justice Smith, David Allen Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Michaela Witkins, Aisha Hinds, Tim Baltz, Rupert Friend, Nicole Byer</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v7_c-7tWXqg" width="320" youtube-src-id="v7_c-7tWXqg"></iframe></div><br />Much like last year's The Blackening, The American Society of Magical Negroes acts as a deconstruction of traditional roles for African Americans in Hollywood narratives. The term "magical negro" was coined for films that utilize a Black character who exists as a sage-like figure and acts as a source of support or inspiration for a white protagonist. A Bagger Vance, if you will. This film showcases the idea that there is a society of such figures who manifest themselves to comfort white people when they become upset, as a sort of pacifist activism that protects Black people in a roundabout way. Justice Smith plays a new recruit in this society who risks his role after falling in love with his client's love interest. The movie acts as a fairy tale spin on Men in Black, and it's inventive and fun. It has its fair share of struggles as well, as it is often incapable of juggling its romantic plot and the client plot adequately, often shortchanged the latter in favor of the former. But that's also kind of the point, because the movie also exists as an allegory for taking the reins of their own life and becoming the main character of their own story while also making the point that racial relations need to be a two-way street, rather than just a coddling of one side. I do wish it had more time to marinate, possibly to flesh itself out, because it trips over itself switching back and forth between a parody of whimsy and actual whimsy, but it's cute and funny enough for an enjoyable evening.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQT0cBbFundUKC92bwSPkTuu3T8cnuCBh6Y3_Tdbvd-3gMezPBtIusnvJiSuArsYcAmtxDRCmUUNTstrSLSV8v57ugsZGEZzuNIhXi9Imfq83_pGbFzw7BOqUsZEpIGakElO2UkkGIyfUKA0jT0TuhGRm-nhYijPOlJcRrk7kwgSTDYTYSHOkYcmSZnzIf/s1480/MV5BNzMzMDNhZWYtZDE4ZC00MTg5LWJiZWEtZjU2OGM2ZjMzM2I1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDc5ODIzMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQT0cBbFundUKC92bwSPkTuu3T8cnuCBh6Y3_Tdbvd-3gMezPBtIusnvJiSuArsYcAmtxDRCmUUNTstrSLSV8v57ugsZGEZzuNIhXi9Imfq83_pGbFzw7BOqUsZEpIGakElO2UkkGIyfUKA0jT0TuhGRm-nhYijPOlJcRrk7kwgSTDYTYSHOkYcmSZnzIf/s320/MV5BNzMzMDNhZWYtZDE4ZC00MTg5LWJiZWEtZjU2OGM2ZjMzM2I1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDc5ODIzMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Arthur the King</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Drama, Adventure</div><div>Director: Simon Cellan Jones</div><div>Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Suliman, Bear Grylls, Paul Guilfoyle</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wjDJNEPghNY" width="320" youtube-src-id="wjDJNEPghNY"></iframe></div><br />Based on the true story of a stray dog who followed an adventure racing team through their long journey, the plays a little bit loosey-goosey with the tale, notably making the racing team American instead of Swedish and adding extra dabs of tearjerking schmaltz here and there. But mostly the movie wants to be a family film about a cute pup on an adventure, and on that front...it's still kind of a disappointment. Arthur the King is tripped up by limitations, because it feels like it needed to pick and choose what it can depict, whether due to budget constraints or possibly the uncertainty of how to make its depictions engrossing. The film has more than a few moments where it's trying to thrill the audience, but it struggles to make it exciting. The actors lack a sense of urgency, and it can at times imply through editing rather than show (I'm mostly thinking of a cable-crossing scene early on, which is just a failure at everything it tries to do). Meanwhile, the attempts to give the dog a personality fall short, because his training work also feels edited for implication, with quite a bit of bad ADR dog noises to try and display his emotions while the dog in question just looks neutral throughout most of the movie. It's not the worst "People love dogs" movie I've ever seen, but it is one of the most humdrum. It tries to be inspiring, and it's not uninspiring, so that's not nothing, I guess.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcilXwTarP0M6PGDBQqP6pBxvKFg3AyKmh67BP72QRP4d9tazX6kYvsV9Zrm9nQGv8BPgLACOgm7J_efA8iCQWJXMxuN3eDwno_H-JweS9aLgEuMKm8hrW16RlRXowDNa4H0L-lsKKpJLQJAJjmIY3Gf31lAgJZHgp-TYu5kQWjFQMEqgu0FcIGGjFLIXE/s1521/MV5BN2NjN2E3ZGEtZGNiNy00ZGJhLTg5NzUtMWQzNTc0ZTNlZmUxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTcxODA1OTU3._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1521" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcilXwTarP0M6PGDBQqP6pBxvKFg3AyKmh67BP72QRP4d9tazX6kYvsV9Zrm9nQGv8BPgLACOgm7J_efA8iCQWJXMxuN3eDwno_H-JweS9aLgEuMKm8hrW16RlRXowDNa4H0L-lsKKpJLQJAJjmIY3Gf31lAgJZHgp-TYu5kQWjFQMEqgu0FcIGGjFLIXE/s320/MV5BN2NjN2E3ZGEtZGNiNy00ZGJhLTg5NzUtMWQzNTc0ZTNlZmUxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTcxODA1OTU3._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><b>Knox Goes Away</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Thriller</div><div>Director: Michael Keaton</div><div>Starring: Michael Keaton, James Marsden, Suzy Nakamura, Joanna Kulig, Ray McKinnon, John Hoogenakker, Lela Loren, Marcia Gay Harden, Al Pacino</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bZ8SeYVnc9A" width="320" youtube-src-id="bZ8SeYVnc9A"></iframe></div><br />Interesting, but bland, noir directed by Michael Keaton, who also stars as a hitman fighting dementia. His son comes to him for help after he accidentally kills the man who statutory raped his daughter, and Keaton tries to cover it up while also getting his affairs in order. I think the premise of this movie promises a film that has more meat than is here. It's a terrific showcase for Keaton, who is at the top of his game and is almost holding the entire film on his shoulders, but the film teeters on tedium as we await it to make it to its point. It's enough story for a short film that has been padded out with subplots. Some are okay enough, but they all feel like they're treading water because they need Keaton's storyline to move before they can do anything. Keaton's counting on the psychological drama of a bad man who is counting down his final days of sanity to keep the audience engrossed. I don't blame him for being fascinated with it, because it's his spotlight, but it's not enough.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyED3Up1MHceAjJ-6ZM0CKlMBCTqbgA3PBVf1tyi4g7ME9YeICL8A3TVlfb7xeC7kBOz2s9MdAwRnUybcx6zrBiknFK8STb5KAAr92_AKSVuU0c29etBhyphenhyphenD5ZfbtP3aNz03NcVvrHh0NSI560c7TMUedQyl6x3f5P8S030dg96tp1uMm4IvLPWnR7x2lPP/s1482/MV5BM2IzZWVhYjYtMjFmMy00OWQzLTkyNjUtN2IwZWE2ZmY5NzI3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY2NDUyNzY3._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyED3Up1MHceAjJ-6ZM0CKlMBCTqbgA3PBVf1tyi4g7ME9YeICL8A3TVlfb7xeC7kBOz2s9MdAwRnUybcx6zrBiknFK8STb5KAAr92_AKSVuU0c29etBhyphenhyphenD5ZfbtP3aNz03NcVvrHh0NSI560c7TMUedQyl6x3f5P8S030dg96tp1uMm4IvLPWnR7x2lPP/s320/MV5BM2IzZWVhYjYtMjFmMy00OWQzLTkyNjUtN2IwZWE2ZmY5NzI3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY2NDUyNzY3._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Love Lies Bleeding</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Thriller, Comedy, Drama</div><div>Director: Rose Glass</div><div>Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katie O'Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m9DL9ztbYZs" width="320" youtube-src-id="m9DL9ztbYZs"></iframe></div><br />Because Drive-Away Dolls dropped the ball on being the definitive lesbian crime spree movie of 2024, Love Lies Bleeding is here to pick up the slack. This film sees Kristen Stewart falling for lady bodybuilder Katy O'Brian at her gym, but their affair grows complicated when O'Brian kills Stewart's abusive brother-in-law. It's a less audaciously comedic film than Drive-Away Dolls, choosing to be more of a dark dramady with some humorously over-the-top moments, right down to full surrealism toward the end. It's a stylish movie that feels both disgusted and aroused by its violent tendencies, flowing with a message of being so in love that you'll do anything, and those most toxic actions prove just how in love you are. It indulges in itself a lot, as sometimes Katy O'Brian's "roid rage" moments come off like Bill Bixby turning into Lou Ferrigno in The Incredible Hulk TV series, though it's a movie that will keep your attention and thrill you in more ways than one.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEhR8i-nW3Jg-GubSUIYqiwizjj9ePodIDpkVKsax8UAYEGFkP3IvjpvCApOyyAwnfU4M-Kv959ZS47BlGWYSRv5EIN5hVPAuxiQCdqOxOTEifIfqlVtzxbFAm4xWTyEL7LdKHQQzxmbj_4IqCQO_rNNC2Y3DcstPCNO2qTXJ3lHH7VjLLLdRSc7lmFP-/s1481/MV5BY2I3ZjQwN2YtODQ5ZS00ZjY0LWIxNDctYjg1M2Y1YjQ2ZTUxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDcxMjkyOA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEhR8i-nW3Jg-GubSUIYqiwizjj9ePodIDpkVKsax8UAYEGFkP3IvjpvCApOyyAwnfU4M-Kv959ZS47BlGWYSRv5EIN5hVPAuxiQCdqOxOTEifIfqlVtzxbFAm4xWTyEL7LdKHQQzxmbj_4IqCQO_rNNC2Y3DcstPCNO2qTXJ3lHH7VjLLLdRSc7lmFP-/s320/MV5BY2I3ZjQwN2YtODQ5ZS00ZjY0LWIxNDctYjg1M2Y1YjQ2ZTUxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDcxMjkyOA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Prank</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Thriller</div><div>Director: Maureen Bharoocha</div><div>Starring: Rita Moreno, Connor Kalopsis, Ramona Young, Meredith Salenger, Keith David</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-UzsxSLYUXE" width="320" youtube-src-id="-UzsxSLYUXE"></iframe></div><br />A high school student finds himself desperate when the toughest teacher in the school threatens him with a failing grade. He then conspires with his best friend to pull a prank on her to humiliate her, but it accidentally escalates when she's arrested for murder. Those with an affinity for Animal House style comedies where wacky students get into shenanigans and rebel against authority will probably think this sounds interesting. It certainly has its moments, though it feels like a distinct comedic style that is hampered by budget restrictions and juvenile plotting. The film feels like it was made by someone who grew up with a healthy stack of R.L. Stein books and with their favorite movies being 10 Things I Hate About You and Teaching Mrs. Tingle and wanted to combine those things into one entity. Meanwhile, the movie feels at a loss of what it can and can't work into itself with its budget. The title "prank" is actually pretty lame, and while the snowball effect has amusement value, nothing the film does with it feels all that inspired. It even grows predictable as it enters its third act twist, which hopes to spice things up, but hardly musters a heartbeat. I like the movie's spunk, but that only creates a few laughs in a film that isn't living up to itself.</div><div><br /></div><div>MST3K Cast Note: This film actually has quite a few recognizable character actors in it but keep an eye out for Tom Servo voice Baron Vaughn, who plays a newscaster that pops up at random points in the film. Meredith Salenger, wife of Patton Oswalt, also has a supporting role in this film.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZ8-WFFPypWIVbbT8GXbIkqzgbycScFanFjj2OBiUYUyhwgTSvkWq204qyBpIWaTumaQYbNSKnThxNAtvXMiBGElNRtdqVDdBr48ZNb-zBya77C1mNLw636xS2S8groIl9-b0POvcfSriz2q2E_WMpHo11QwZE63Y0xZy0P_7jqU-wx9RshkLKwgloUah/s1500/MV5BODU1ZTUxNTItZDBjMi00NTNlLWI5ZDMtZjkwYTUyZTFkNjU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZ8-WFFPypWIVbbT8GXbIkqzgbycScFanFjj2OBiUYUyhwgTSvkWq204qyBpIWaTumaQYbNSKnThxNAtvXMiBGElNRtdqVDdBr48ZNb-zBya77C1mNLw636xS2S8groIl9-b0POvcfSriz2q2E_WMpHo11QwZE63Y0xZy0P_7jqU-wx9RshkLKwgloUah/s320/MV5BODU1ZTUxNTItZDBjMi00NTNlLWI5ZDMtZjkwYTUyZTFkNjU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><b>Snack Shack</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy</div><div>Director: Adam Carter Rehmeier</div><div>Starring: Conor Sherry, Gabriel LaBelle, Mika Abdalla, David Costabile, Nick Robinson</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BdXFIKFPWoQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="BdXFIKFPWoQ"></iframe></div><br />Two teens rent out a snack shack at a local pool for the summer for quick cash, and wind up falling for the same girl, which threatens their entrepreneurship and their friendship. Snack Shack is a love letter to summertime coming-of-age tales mixed with youth bromance comedy, not unlike something the Coreys would have starred in as they were aging out of teen heartthrob status. The film is promising, and amusing at its best moments, but meandering, as certain plot elements feel underdeveloped as the movie takes left turns away from them. Not helping matters is that the characters are supposedly fourteen years old in the movie, even though the actors are all in their early-to-mid-twenties, which makes the creative choice a bit of a stretch. It's not uncommon for 20somethings to play teenagers, but rarely this young. The film's love interest lead is likely in the same age-range, maybe a few years older (she apparently has a driver's license), but the film photographs her with such a leery lens that it borders on problematic, because if the actress playing the role actually were the age of the character, the filmmakers likely would be placed on some sex offender registry. These are all questionable creative choices for a movie that would probably be better if it weren't wandering down such a rabbit hole. Foul mouthed, horny youth isn't a hard sell, but when you have barely non-tweens betting money at a dog race and taking out bank loans, things that they would likely be carded for, it stretches credibility and makes the choice of characterizing so young even worse. If you were to ignore the more "why did you even do that?" elements, there is an enjoyable laugh of a movie at its core. With the odd creativity working against it, it struggles to become anything more than diverting.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2Ah-6aGZLC2rXL5z2a_5pGoZiHvI0lwYAvNyKwMlE_hLI9C2cEWIrsDY_Y4PoxQLVOGA2GTo4XzazBZzYxMlK3TvkfA3fQSPicv3u3CoylfOGUOo9eogr5zBpomTdHaY9ryNeckYzUr-TB9NaeFHQyG_h1hJu4s372Lqa2jIejVn4zWXMzkMOdIE4LEL/s1454/MV5BYjllNjQzMWMtODZlZC00MGQyLTliZGUtOTBiYzgzODQ2ZmMzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTU5NzQzNDg3._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2Ah-6aGZLC2rXL5z2a_5pGoZiHvI0lwYAvNyKwMlE_hLI9C2cEWIrsDY_Y4PoxQLVOGA2GTo4XzazBZzYxMlK3TvkfA3fQSPicv3u3CoylfOGUOo9eogr5zBpomTdHaY9ryNeckYzUr-TB9NaeFHQyG_h1hJu4s372Lqa2jIejVn4zWXMzkMOdIE4LEL/s320/MV5BYjllNjQzMWMtODZlZC00MGQyLTliZGUtOTBiYzgzODQ2ZmMzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTU5NzQzNDg3._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><b>Thorns</b></div><div>⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Douglas Schulze</div><div>Starring: Jon Bennett, Cassandra Schomer, Doug Bradley</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gj46-og2CdQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="gj46-og2CdQ"></iframe></div><br />I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Thorns was something I saw in a theater at this point. I have seen some weird micro-budget stuff since I started doing this. A lot of them are faith movies, but there are occasional movies that look like they were made by YouTubers with a couple hundred bucks in their pocket, such as Unfavorable Odds and Never Give Up. Still, every time I stumble across one of these movies, I'm amazed someone actually booked it in a multiplex. Thorns is like if someone with access to video equipment decided to make Event Horizon on the set of The Office, and is hoping red lights and flash editing will do the heavy lifting. The film finds a former priest who currently works for NASA for reasons who finds that a observatory station has been taken over by a demonic entity that wishes to unleash hell on Earth. The movie is clearly made by people with an affinity for Hellraiser style movies, so much so that Doug "Pinhead" Bradley has a minor role (where he gets to sit in a chair and read off cue-cards, acting like he's talking to people who are clearly not in the same room as him). To be fair, it's not an entirely incompetent production, as there are little bits of unsettlement it's able to get across in efficient ways, though it aims to startle instead of shock. I suspect the movie is more of a demo for the filmmakers rather than anything substantial, as most movies this low-to-the-ground are. I just wish they had pulled it off.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1EmcZglg698EtAYrb66EByLvLlFxyi1Zf2G7hr0wbmyfcLxgyUmBfDuDn8xoqOuHdWYc22ppnNu7tOv7fgGHUG5ZT5u4BV6kBwj7l3k8BS4_X5vOSo6ROgCPIGSJPyc0cWDJDSJl5QJ48vRLRyOfAzxNN0dc8jURuX0VJQGD340gplCUVbPeEJWjRJVK/s1481/MV5BMzJkMzdmYTktYWJjNy00MDk2LWI0ZWEtZDUwMjkwYjgyOTlkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDY2MjcyOTQ@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1EmcZglg698EtAYrb66EByLvLlFxyi1Zf2G7hr0wbmyfcLxgyUmBfDuDn8xoqOuHdWYc22ppnNu7tOv7fgGHUG5ZT5u4BV6kBwj7l3k8BS4_X5vOSo6ROgCPIGSJPyc0cWDJDSJl5QJ48vRLRyOfAzxNN0dc8jURuX0VJQGD340gplCUVbPeEJWjRJVK/s320/MV5BMzJkMzdmYTktYWJjNy00MDk2LWI0ZWEtZDUwMjkwYjgyOTlkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDY2MjcyOTQ@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Uproar</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Drama</div><div>Director: Paul Middleditch, Hamish Bennett</div><div>Starring: Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby, Minnie Driver, James Rolleston, Erana James, Mabelle Dennison</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GHFrCVittRM" width="320" youtube-src-id="GHFrCVittRM"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Taking place in 1981 New Zealand during the Springbooks rugby tour, Julian Dennison plays a high school student who usually goes with the flow but starts to find his ideals changing as he learns more about the protests against the tour. Uproar is a passionate movie made by people with clear worldviews that are important to them. If only the plot had as much clarity. The movie gives Dennison three distinct storylines involving rugby, stage drama, and activism, and while it works hard to tie the three of them together thematically, the storytelling workload proves to be cumbersome because they clash with each other. If the movie had picked two and ran with it, there might be a more investing film on display. But there is a powerful underlining theme of breaking free from youth and emerging as the person you're meant to be. It works in the film's favor, even if the film doesn't always work as well as its metaphor.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXBcMzAbG4MJKvJAYahZOoqtgtRMbYSsjSy1XuDt-x_Y3jLDDERmj_-uFDXJJH2NoyD9E-izABKcLE_rTiJMtVVByjf8mD-fFWIQVFFit9OEPmhVXuKjgzIC_fzxcTHTS43KbLjevL3CWkAPGmUNC9mp_zPJw2aQu1KZAGXXVuxmMfr9LhDIl7bD02P2-/s1481/MV5BMGRiYzdlYjEtOWM4Zi00YzY2LTk4ZTItZGRhOTBlMWY5Y2UwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzMTYzMDI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXBcMzAbG4MJKvJAYahZOoqtgtRMbYSsjSy1XuDt-x_Y3jLDDERmj_-uFDXJJH2NoyD9E-izABKcLE_rTiJMtVVByjf8mD-fFWIQVFFit9OEPmhVXuKjgzIC_fzxcTHTS43KbLjevL3CWkAPGmUNC9mp_zPJw2aQu1KZAGXXVuxmMfr9LhDIl7bD02P2-/s320/MV5BMGRiYzdlYjEtOWM4Zi00YzY2LTk4ZTItZGRhOTBlMWY5Y2UwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzMTYzMDI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Driving Madeleine</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Christian Carion</div><div>Starring: Line Renaud, Dany Boon, Alice Isaaz</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w_ZLwuO2eg8" width="320" youtube-src-id="w_ZLwuO2eg8"></iframe></div><br />This French offering has a cab driver pick up an elderly woman on her way to a nursing home, and as the ride continues he hears more about the life she led. The film is a rather basic ode to the full lives of the elderly, and how its easy to gloss over the time they had simply because it's not their time anymore. It's a film of schmaltz that will curveball into hyper dramatic intensity when it feels like it, showcasing the heavy beats of Madeleine's life dramatized for precision effect. I find myself wishing the film were more detailed, chronicling a full life rather than just heavy moments. The point of the movie still gets across, though it could probably hit harder with more ambition.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqwsXSSy4SAHchzqvzklKE2s2Et0wqcLYRx72oEZcSoVIICtGin_YzVzrLLD0-MP1S5PuavnQ9s3tgJgn-H0sStV7PDgndN1PrjGeETR5boY_3Z-XL2Auj5Y-Jsx03xRHtCVFTfVCrFoOumkNqUyrlJI3aFW9akY9lvwTCaJJKgMUjPK51JUNIGxtBbuG/s1481/MV5BNGU1OTFhMmItNDcyMS00ODEyLWE4NmQtMjFhZjExNmU1OTQ4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqwsXSSy4SAHchzqvzklKE2s2Et0wqcLYRx72oEZcSoVIICtGin_YzVzrLLD0-MP1S5PuavnQ9s3tgJgn-H0sStV7PDgndN1PrjGeETR5boY_3Z-XL2Auj5Y-Jsx03xRHtCVFTfVCrFoOumkNqUyrlJI3aFW9akY9lvwTCaJJKgMUjPK51JUNIGxtBbuG/s320/MV5BNGU1OTFhMmItNDcyMS00ODEyLWE4NmQtMjFhZjExNmU1OTQ4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>One Life</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: James Hawes</div><div>Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Johnathan Pryce</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1EVPjV7Toho" width="320" youtube-src-id="1EVPjV7Toho"></iframe></div><br />Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn share the role of Nicholas Winton, a stockbroker whose efforts to bring refugee children out of Czechoslavakia in hopes to save them from the Nazis during Germany's invasion. It's a gripping story of humanitarianism that makes One Life a film worth viewing, which also utilizes Hopkins as the man many years later, who finally faces just how important his action of empathy was. It's a very interesting story that is brought to the screen with a considerable amount of respect, but like a lot of films about the Holocaust, it faces the decision of just how in-depth it wants to get. The film is primarily about how one helping hand saved hundreds of lives, so it doesn't feel like like it wants to make the film too disturbing. Because of that, when it's in the face of something harrowing, it feels overly reeled in, but the positive message of the film still overcomes the film's weaknesses.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><u>Oscar Winners</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">20 Days in Mariupol</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a><b> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a><b> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a><b> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Last Repair Shop</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Zone of Interest</a><b> ⭐⭐⭐</b>1/2</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Argylle</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Bob Marley: One Love</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-10.html">Cabrini</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-9.html">Dune: Part Two</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-10.html">Imaginary</a> ⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-10.html">Kung Fu Panda 4</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Madame Web</a> ⭐</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-8.html">Ordinary Angels</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Madame Web</a> ⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">I.S.S.</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HpOBXh02rVc" width="320" youtube-src-id="HpOBXh02rVc"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/11gb7q1tosI" width="320" youtube-src-id="11gb7q1tosI"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cvt-mauboTc" width="320" youtube-src-id="cvt-mauboTc"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-25537569754202098422024-03-10T10:42:00.001-06:002024-03-10T10:42:29.237-06:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 10 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M58pdUdJBh5-SMITx4C47ucygRqJtEjzhcdMnYiV1N_vyJkLEaSA5qBkLarUzGjR1w1eQxV5eERPusueFqwjRQIyEmmKUMB4bacn77kMbwjZEDtHY1kk678H92mUTwjSL8AoSzF0BDiN22lxkkTvYs6cncKv_o60kpmtphXKEcATYjPRkPWU6jXWdcKa/s6000/MV5BNDY3NjUzNDgtZTVjOS00NmNjLTk4M2ItYmY3OWQ1MjQ5OTIzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAxNzQ1NzI@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M58pdUdJBh5-SMITx4C47ucygRqJtEjzhcdMnYiV1N_vyJkLEaSA5qBkLarUzGjR1w1eQxV5eERPusueFqwjRQIyEmmKUMB4bacn77kMbwjZEDtHY1kk678H92mUTwjSL8AoSzF0BDiN22lxkkTvYs6cncKv_o60kpmtphXKEcATYjPRkPWU6jXWdcKa/s320/MV5BNDY3NjUzNDgtZTVjOS00NmNjLTk4M2ItYmY3OWQ1MjQ5OTIzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAxNzQ1NzI@._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Accidental Texan</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Comedy, Drama</div><div style="text-align: left;">Director: Mark Lambert Bristol</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: Thomas Haden Church, Rudy Pankow, Carrie-Anne Moss, Bruce Dern</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x5DsR8S2ppc" width="320" youtube-src-id="x5DsR8S2ppc"></iframe></div><br />Accidental Texan is a movie that feels like it was made in the wrong era. The film centers on a struggling actor who finds himself stranded in a small Texas town, where he is enlisted by a small-time oil driller who hopes to tap a well before he loses it to competitors. The fish-out-of-water comedy is old fashioned, but the thing that really makes Accidental Texan feel past its expiration date is its oil drilling plot. It feels like it's meant to have blue-collar appeal, and maybe it does, but it's premise would have felt more at home during the Reagan/Bush era and doesn't hit the same in 2024. That being said, those who long for a certain type of comedic "crossing of two worlds" premise will find the film to be adequate comfort food cinema. Thomas Haden Church and Carrie-Anne Moss add more credibility to it with their committed presence, though it's weird to see them in awe of a "movie star" even though they're both way more famous than their young co-star, Rudy Pankow. If your favorite movie of all time is, oh say, City Slickers, the movie might be worth a watch. Just expect it to be a humble offering.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdC5oGy-yzqUy7yqsUwBZ0V0VJBkf-gNUxf61xo8anhcqFZzyn6j8LHHmjbg-emoVk1whddCO7bQx8mnynYSlJNI-pXM8JMi4mo7YXXQtzX7dou2BFHGy7v7L85uAfTdVn4GdedEgBljIwOHk1BkSVxBsbITAH8aRkyll9WUnZMMt6N8zwc1JO2caXpBz3/s1481/MV5BYzhkYjdlYzAtZGEwNy00NmUzLTg3NzEtOTFmNjJmZWJiMTU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzc0MTgzMzU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdC5oGy-yzqUy7yqsUwBZ0V0VJBkf-gNUxf61xo8anhcqFZzyn6j8LHHmjbg-emoVk1whddCO7bQx8mnynYSlJNI-pXM8JMi4mo7YXXQtzX7dou2BFHGy7v7L85uAfTdVn4GdedEgBljIwOHk1BkSVxBsbITAH8aRkyll9WUnZMMt6N8zwc1JO2caXpBz3/s320/MV5BYzhkYjdlYzAtZGEwNy00NmUzLTg3NzEtOTFmNjJmZWJiMTU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzc0MTgzMzU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Cabrini</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Drama</div><div style="text-align: left;">Direcror: Alejandro Monteverde</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: Cristiana Dell'Anna, David Morse, Ramona Maggiora Vergano, Federico Ielapi, Virginia Bocelli, Rolando Villazon, Giancarlo Giannini, John Lithgow</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lihCRaOj0Lg" width="320" youtube-src-id="lihCRaOj0Lg"></iframe></div><br />Based on the life of missionary Francesca Cambini, this film tells of her venturing to America to help Italian immigrants and orphaned children, facing anti-Italian discrimination and hardship and daring to stand up to it. The movie is well-intentioned, and at times it's even very good, but it's tendency to slip into boldly operatic melodrama shoots itself in the foot. Cristiana Dell'Anna is asked to carry the weight of the movie on her shoulders, and she seems willing to do so, but the indulgences of the film's construction weigh her down and she begins to buckle under the added weight. Alejandro Monteverde certainly doesn't seem to be an incompetent filmmaker, though his efforts to go out of his way for a more flourished camera shot seems like it's done at the story's annoyance, because it often requires stilted blocking that seems awkward in execution. At the same time, this is a movie where the heroic acts are humanitarianism, and the antagonists are discrimination and sexism. The film's celebration of immigration is commendable, and even a timely message in today's political climate. It's just a movie that in its own way.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qGoQl5mIG_NPwiE7PgfNfm6HAMN-Fapcq8kXFlgQbmg0Ss1oONYSBRihkAGbIwuY4LcR7ljkcBAIJFQiuuxYG7NZaXKDfSNyWpB1Esrb1BzUnKUEXk-SYhZFvejvTi4lB_8JoJRIjdWcf4di8ITfk0-tw3LCl1fLwLFhr5T6T5ZMtUX7lcht_0E6sBDQ/s1535/MV5BODIzOTJiODUtNzM2MC00YjdjLTg5YTktZWZhNjY1N2I5NWRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY5ODI4NDk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qGoQl5mIG_NPwiE7PgfNfm6HAMN-Fapcq8kXFlgQbmg0Ss1oONYSBRihkAGbIwuY4LcR7ljkcBAIJFQiuuxYG7NZaXKDfSNyWpB1Esrb1BzUnKUEXk-SYhZFvejvTi4lB_8JoJRIjdWcf4di8ITfk0-tw3LCl1fLwLFhr5T6T5ZMtUX7lcht_0E6sBDQ/s320/MV5BODIzOTJiODUtNzM2MC00YjdjLTg5YTktZWZhNjY1N2I5NWRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY5ODI4NDk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /><b>Imaginary</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐1/2</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Horror, Fantasy</div><div style="text-align: left;">Director: Jeff Wadlow</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: DeWanda Wise, Tom Payne, Taegan Burns, Pyper Braun, Matthew Sato, Veronica Falcon, Betty Buckley</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8XoNfrgrAGM" width="320" youtube-src-id="8XoNfrgrAGM"></iframe></div><br />From the visionary mind that brought you modern day Blumhouse classics such as Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island comes a movie that's exactly as good as you think it is after reading this sentence. Jeff Wadlow continues to crank out horror flicks for the Blumhouse machine, and sadly we're still waiting for one that's feels like more than a baseline concept. This one's concept is about a little girl who finds a teddy bear, which is haunted by an entity that presents itself as her imaginary friend. It's a movie that comes off as if it was made by someone who watched Child's Play and Annabelle and thought "I can do that." Credit where credit is due, the film has effective moments, with a few scenes of well-executed suspense and a couple of wry gags that hit. It just makes it all-the-more disappointing that the majority of the movie is flaccid. The movie has a lot of ideas. Not original ideas, but there are certain ones that might provide the basis for a solid entertainer if you pursued them. Imaginary chooses to cram them together and tries not to think too hard about them. Maybe it's a budget thing keeping it from going for broke, but that doesn't forgive its stilted scripting and hasty plotting. The movie pushes itself forward with plot beats that either fall flat or make little sense. It's a movie that just sits there, thinking maybe you can close your eyes and imagine a better movie instead.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7-W58ogFI0Dk0m-Or-IPT4ufq3897lIrbqnANvKIo7T9QnJ4BZicUkNugJdMNnshWMOoKoudVoS4-W7KYu-Ww-4sLbO83ypZUEG1YOBWZKs6n-13eNvpbRxGfj4yVANAlLpMMXk0NstAEkDchAPUbZGpzKg9ItaLzm2M2heU3Jkbv_Q8A8q_O-WcV7W0/s1583/MV5BZDY0YzI0OTctYjVhYy00MTVhLWE0NTgtYTRmYTBmOTE3YTViXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1583" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7-W58ogFI0Dk0m-Or-IPT4ufq3897lIrbqnANvKIo7T9QnJ4BZicUkNugJdMNnshWMOoKoudVoS4-W7KYu-Ww-4sLbO83ypZUEG1YOBWZKs6n-13eNvpbRxGfj4yVANAlLpMMXk0NstAEkDchAPUbZGpzKg9ItaLzm2M2heU3Jkbv_Q8A8q_O-WcV7W0/s320/MV5BZDY0YzI0OTctYjVhYy00MTVhLWE0NTgtYTRmYTBmOTE3YTViXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><b>Kung Fu Panda 4</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Comedy, Action, Adventure, Fantasy</div><div style="text-align: left;">Director: Mike Mitchell</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Bryan Cranston, James Hong, Ian McShane, Ke Huy Quan, Dustin Hoffman</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_inKs4eeHiI" width="320" youtube-src-id="_inKs4eeHiI"></iframe></div><br />DreamWorks Animation seems to be in the middle of an effort to re-establish its co-dominance in the animation market, after losing steam in the last ten years and becoming eclipsed by Illumination's rise to power. But they managed to revitalize interest in the Shrek franchise with the surprisingly excellent Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, so who's to say they couldn't do the same with Kung Fu Panda? That may or may not happen, but Kung Fu Panda 4 is a bit of a let-down compared to previous Kung Fu Panda movies, and it certainly doesn't crack the bat like The Last Wish did. This latest installment has the title panda "Dragon Warrior" Po in the position where he must pass his title to a successor, and subsequently teams up with a shady fox (who is played by Awkwafina, continuing her invasion of every animated property ever made) to stop a shapeshifting villain from threatening the land. The movie lacks the lavish beauty that Jennifer Yuh Nelson brought the last two installments, showcasing a far simpler, less emotional story, with more slapstick-oriented direction by Mike Mitchell. I suppose the Kung Fu Panda franchise was in a corner, because the movies looked like they were getting more expensive and the returns weren't growing, so they were forced to scale back. This means a smaller cast, as the Furious Five is conspicuously absent throughout the movie, likely because they wanted to save a few dollars on casting. What makes this doubly disappointing is the use of a shape-shifting villain in the film, and when you have a baddie that can <i>be</i> anyone, a larger cast of characters would be a benefit. Viola Davis is good as the villain, doing what she's allowed to do, but it feels like she should be doing more. But the good-natured comedy of the film is still charming and fun, and parents with rowdy children will definitely want to check it out. I just can't help but be a little let down at how basic the franchise has narrowed itself into when it has also given us a powerhouse like Kung Fu Panda 2.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYaSCm8KWnysv6CxAJYur6r_mbmOAuuLjRFrKbyav_UAu2-jFXL9RxxtCf_cIIaNikwB2ceHBG5ew8WMB2nB0z_9xbIkE81ZjySOk03RL60vJo-8nmWSBE0rc86kmLMoEituBPFQeNOsZDnCkKQdUk2rVZj_DdDIZrn0h4fxWB-dTv6x7eML4PPOKqhH1G/s1429/MV5BMTYxMDEzYTItN2M0Zi00MjU1LWIxYjQtYjg2MDk2YmQzYWY4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTQ0NzY4Mzc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYaSCm8KWnysv6CxAJYur6r_mbmOAuuLjRFrKbyav_UAu2-jFXL9RxxtCf_cIIaNikwB2ceHBG5ew8WMB2nB0z_9xbIkE81ZjySOk03RL60vJo-8nmWSBE0rc86kmLMoEituBPFQeNOsZDnCkKQdUk2rVZj_DdDIZrn0h4fxWB-dTv6x7eML4PPOKqhH1G/s320/MV5BMTYxMDEzYTItN2M0Zi00MjU1LWIxYjQtYjg2MDk2YmQzYWY4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTQ0NzY4Mzc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><b>The Peasants</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Drama</div><div style="text-align: left;">Director: Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: Kamila Urzedowska, Albert Gulaczyk, Miroslaw Baka, Sonia Mietoelica, Ewa Kasprzyk</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-1in2FMBKmo" width="320" youtube-src-id="-1in2FMBKmo"></iframe></div><br />Polish filmmakers Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman follow up their rotoscope oil painting animation Finding Vincent with a brand-new luscious flick that puts the "art" in arthouse. The film tells a period piece story of a young girl who has an affair with a married man, only to be linked into an arranged marriage with his father. From what I can tell, The Peasants was deemed a bit of a disappointment, with criticisms leveled at the story being simple and uninvolving. I'll agree that the film is very basic in premise, though I found the drama more investing than most. Ideally, a film style this innovative would be pushed to the limit with a script with towering ambition, though I feel like this animation style calls for sacrificing portions of its narrative to concentrate on its beauty. Maybe one day a film like this can be a sweeping epic, but a film like The Peasants is a stepping stone to getting there. What is here narratively is a story of a woman who has been wronged by the evils of men, as she is dragged through the dirt whether she is compliant or defiant through a life she did not ask for. It doesn't break new ground, but paired with the format, the film is arresting. I hope these filmmakers continue to hone their craft and get stronger with it, because they've carved their own little niche in animation and in the end, they might have a career for the ages.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Oscar's Trash Can</u></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YBOjOczaZ9FZzR3-5Zz6CWPn18duERTIYklgdDW7j6jaTeI8JmxcEoDikLObQc7Amz_x2a8lvcXjJyrayhjwlxZfYfiMs6J1bAGRLaKmrEt9KNjIg9OrxGkW77rKZbpo9O0JJvqk5MOS5en-K25YPDkHdcqT9Muih2FKVbGzP03dWVN7AWeDuP4fJeW-/s1519/MV5BYjI2Njc4MGQtYzYwNC00MDQ1LTkyMzQtODY0NDk4NzZjNGMyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1519" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YBOjOczaZ9FZzR3-5Zz6CWPn18duERTIYklgdDW7j6jaTeI8JmxcEoDikLObQc7Amz_x2a8lvcXjJyrayhjwlxZfYfiMs6J1bAGRLaKmrEt9KNjIg9OrxGkW77rKZbpo9O0JJvqk5MOS5en-K25YPDkHdcqT9Muih2FKVbGzP03dWVN7AWeDuP4fJeW-/s320/MV5BYjI2Njc4MGQtYzYwNC00MDQ1LTkyMzQtODY0NDk4NzZjNGMyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br />Perfect Days</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best International Film</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Wim Wenders</div><div>Starring: Koji Yakusho</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QzZBbX5A1FA" width="320" youtube-src-id="QzZBbX5A1FA"></iframe></div><br />I had seen trailers for Perfect Days at my multiplex months ago, and I thought it was eventually going to play in my area, but it never even came to my arthouse. I figured they might play it before the Oscars, maybe? But alas, it hit streaming rental without it coming up on the schedule over there, so I took it however I could get it. This film was Japan's submission to the International category, skipping out over their smash hit Godzilla Minus One, though Perfect Days was selected for submission before Godzilla was released in the US to great acclaim. Even still, Perfect Days got nominated, so perhaps they made the right call.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly, both Godzilla Minus One and Perfect Days went up against each other for this year's Best Film award at the Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony (these are Japan's own local Oscars) and Godzilla won, also topping the night with eight awards. Perfect Days won two (Best Director and Best Actor), and both were awards Godzilla was up for.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm on the record saying I don't care for slice-of-life dramas. Never have, probably never will. I can appreciate a well-made one, but they're just not for me. Usually, they need a hook to really seal the deal. Zone of Interest, for example. A slice-of-life drama about people who casually commit genocide...now <i>that's</i> interesting. Perfect Days has less genocide in it, because it revolves around a restroom maintenance employee who is just living out his simple life. It feels like an exploration of a repressed introvert, who lives a life to his own quiet contentment, interacting with people who are in the middle of more heightened experiences that might be their own personal slice-of-life dramas. What is he to them? Not much. He doesn't seem to make a habit of being noticed. But he is friendly toward them, and as their lives take upturns and downturns, his stays the same. The character is basically what an NPC is in a video game, someone who you'd bump into that has little bearing on what you're doing, but is just there. One strength Perfect Days has is that despite this, it never forgets that its "his story." We're given little context clues as to what his story is, though his character journey itself is limited because he doesn't really have an ambition except be what he is. Because of that, my interest in this movie is limited, but Koji Yakusho is really good in it, successfully conveying what it's like to be content while also yearning at the same time.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><u>Oscar Nominees</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">20 Days in Mariupol</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The ABCs of Book Banning</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The After</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div>American Symphany (N/A)<br /><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Barber of Little Rock</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> </b><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>El Conde (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Elemental</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Eternal Memory</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Flamin' Hot</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Four Daughters (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Golda</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Io Capitano (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Invincible</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Island in Between</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Knight of Fortune</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Last Repair Shop</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Letter to a Pig</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Maestro</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">May December</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Năi Nai & Wài Pó</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Nimona</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Ninety-Five Senses</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Nyad (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Our Uniform</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Pachyderme</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Perfect Days ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Red, White, and Blue</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Robot Dreams (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Rustin</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Society of the Snow</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">The Teachers' Lounge</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>To Kill a Tiger (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Zone of Interest</a> ⭐⭐⭐</b>1/2</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Argylle</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Bob Marley: One Love</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/03/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-9.html">Dune: Part Two</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">Freud's Last Session</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Madame Web</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-8.html">Ordinary Angels</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Argylle</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">The Teachers' Lounge</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wjDJNEPghNY" width="320" youtube-src-id="wjDJNEPghNY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PDOAYulgpQ0" width="320" youtube-src-id="PDOAYulgpQ0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v7_c-7tWXqg" width="320" youtube-src-id="v7_c-7tWXqg"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-89414482469305157172024-03-04T06:38:00.003-07:002024-03-04T06:38:50.204-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 9 (My Cinema Playground)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDyl5WO7BG6kFhR_sQY285Lfs4a_VUVPPT_KTBnG5SwNoZAolRa8yw1Gw66UkWvv47WrEQ84WkLzWf8upCwMcaJPNouQ7TxLH4cQ5NUSgOpJdJ_jPlZJYanu7fOz_a-7Enh04BEa4mKhzjjDvhTyv2Xq7GKNCYms6T5YIWzQY0a4tZzIH0IDrBj79AywR/s1458/MV5BODdjMjM3NGQtZDA5OC00NGE4LWIyZDQtZjYwOGZlMTM5ZTQ1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODE5NzE3OTE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1458" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDyl5WO7BG6kFhR_sQY285Lfs4a_VUVPPT_KTBnG5SwNoZAolRa8yw1Gw66UkWvv47WrEQ84WkLzWf8upCwMcaJPNouQ7TxLH4cQ5NUSgOpJdJ_jPlZJYanu7fOz_a-7Enh04BEa4mKhzjjDvhTyv2Xq7GKNCYms6T5YIWzQY0a4tZzIH0IDrBj79AywR/s320/MV5BODdjMjM3NGQtZDA5OC00NGE4LWIyZDQtZjYwOGZlMTM5ZTQ1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODE5NzE3OTE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br /><b>Dune: Part Two</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Science Fiction</div><div>Director: Denis Villeneuve</div><div>Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U2Qp5pL3ovA" width="320" youtube-src-id="U2Qp5pL3ovA"></iframe></div><br />I guarantee you that nobody wants to read what I have to say about Dune, so it's best if you move along.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm trying so hard with this franchise. It's lovely to look at, but the further into the Dune story I get, the less interesting it becomes. The first one started off well enough, but just kept stumbling about in a bored drone as it went on forever, without even a climax to conclude it. I give it a little bit of leeway because the urgency of an upper-class family seeing their privilege shatter around them was at least exciting. Dune: Part 2une continues on from that, and now Timothée Chalamet must learn to use his big boy voice and establish himself as Sandworm Jesus. That's pretty all this movie has to offer. There might be some extra coating of the exploitation of faith for one's own goals, but the movie doesn't explore it in any enticing way and I just found the whole thing superficial. And it plays out in a jumpy timeframe where passage of time is alluded but feels inconsistent throughout, as some events feel like months have passed, while others feel like days. It's a film that has confident presentation, but upon closer inspection feels as if it could crumble at any minute. A lot of the visuals are nice, I love the costume design, the action sequences are exquisit, and Rebecca Ferguson looks really hot with super-blue eyes. I just wasn't that compelled. I probably could have watched Madame Web twice during this movie's runtime and got more out of the experience.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqD-ElIDJTYS3aEKU8LeBrIlA8CbE1eJk067H1SYVa22e40XfAcZxhVvwhbVmb95IWai7BM3CxA7aqDFhs53xpcLqzAiYDeIdB6IfklafFL1DMAykOc-ZW4RFf54XrAujqdlNd8YRn9fmNvHFcjGMP9zgzvg-oO8x8P357aIVT2OtI5B5nfKvghlwISRL/s3000/MV5BZThkOWJhYmItMmU2Zi00OTUxLTkxNWItMDIxOWRhMWQ3YmNmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2025" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqD-ElIDJTYS3aEKU8LeBrIlA8CbE1eJk067H1SYVa22e40XfAcZxhVvwhbVmb95IWai7BM3CxA7aqDFhs53xpcLqzAiYDeIdB6IfklafFL1DMAykOc-ZW4RFf54XrAujqdlNd8YRn9fmNvHFcjGMP9zgzvg-oO8x8P357aIVT2OtI5B5nfKvghlwISRL/s320/MV5BZThkOWJhYmItMmU2Zi00OTUxLTkxNWItMDIxOWRhMWQ3YmNmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Promised Land</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama, Thriller</div><div>Director: Nikolaj Arcel</div><div>Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Melina Hagberg, Kristine Kujath Thorp</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c9U1E9cC5is" width="320" youtube-src-id="c9U1E9cC5is"></iframe></div><br />Denmark's submission for International Oscar was domestically titled "The Bastard," which is fucking hardcore. No doubt somebody thought the simpler title of "The Promised Land" would sell better to the arthouse market. Both titles adequately describe different aspects of the movie, so pick your poison. The Bastard Land stars Mads Mikkelsen as a retired, impoverished captain who talks the royal court into allowing him to build a farm on the king's land. With little resources at his disposal, he faces hardship in putting forth a successful harvest, which includes a magistrate who claims the land he's farming on belongs to him. The film tells a story of a man who seeks out respect from those who look down on him, but accidentally builds a family of his own out of outcasts he hires as farmhands. And yet, he is faced with difficult choices in the face of discrimination based upon who he is and who he keeps around him, often with violent repercussions. It's a film that is somehow both beautiful and ugly at the same time, weaving a tale of people with modest and peaceful goals and those who refuse to let them. It's also a lot more intense than you might expect, and it's a film I find myself eager to revisit. Perhaps very soon. As soon as I got out of my screening, I bought it digitally, so that should probably tell you something.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><u>Oscar Nominees</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">20 Days in Mariupol</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The ABCs of Book Banning</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The After</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div>American Symphany (N/A)<br /><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Barber of Little Rock</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> </b><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>El Conde (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Elemental</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Eternal Memory</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Flamin' Hot</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Four Daughters (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Golda</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Io Capitano (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Invincible</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Island in Between</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Knight of Fortune</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Last Repair Shop</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Letter to a Pig</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Maestro</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">May December</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Năi Nai & Wài Pó</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Nimona</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Ninety-Five Senses</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Nyad (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Our Uniform</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Pachyderme</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Perfect Days (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Red, White, and Blue</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Robot Dreams (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Rustin</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Society of the Snow</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">The Teachers' Lounge</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>To Kill a Tiger (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Zone of Interest</a> ⭐⭐⭐</b>1/2</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">All of Us Strangers</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Argylle</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Bob Marley: One Love</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-8.html">Drive-Away Dolls</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Land of Bad</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">Lisa Frankenstein</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Madame Web</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-8.html">Ordinary Angels</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-8.html">Stopmotion</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">Lisa Frankenstein</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Dream Scenario</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Next Goal Wins</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hvaoXA3qw9s" width="320" youtube-src-id="hvaoXA3qw9s"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8XoNfrgrAGM" width="320" youtube-src-id="8XoNfrgrAGM"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-59021755047558958892024-02-26T07:48:00.001-07:002024-02-26T07:48:14.962-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 8 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuO0cRr0teyPhVEmycVL6MHG5_2S43YuAixT2rLgxQfyHnZLTM25d99mFzD-IfbAMiPg6nUjueC6sUMhyphenhyphenYOHJVyuzpomHx6oWqSoG8ttWNVCv26P2wIYtk4the2mDmNME2xPiJDos-cWkpyV41vo_Sh8zhoErJL4duxudw5pFF0HxtmtLjQkzt237WQXWF/s1481/MV5BZjI2NDNmNzEtZTAyYi00NjBhLWFkMzQtMmVjZDMxYzAzZjFiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuO0cRr0teyPhVEmycVL6MHG5_2S43YuAixT2rLgxQfyHnZLTM25d99mFzD-IfbAMiPg6nUjueC6sUMhyphenhyphenYOHJVyuzpomHx6oWqSoG8ttWNVCv26P2wIYtk4the2mDmNME2xPiJDos-cWkpyV41vo_Sh8zhoErJL4duxudw5pFF0HxtmtLjQkzt237WQXWF/s320/MV5BZjI2NDNmNzEtZTAyYi00NjBhLWFkMzQtMmVjZDMxYzAzZjFiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Drive-Away Dolls</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy</div><div>Director: Ethan Coen</div><div>Starring: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, Matt Damon</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oy0RYiQRWUk" width="320" youtube-src-id="Oy0RYiQRWUk"></iframe></div><br />The Coen Brothers continue an experiment in directing apart, with Joel directing The Tragedy of Macbeth and Ethan taking the helm of this Screenplay he had co-written nearly two decades ago that went unproductive, the title changed from "Drive-Away Dykes" to something that will cause less of a stir (though Coen playfully kicks whatever studio note changed the title by referencing the original title in the end credits). The film sees two lesbians taking a road trip to Tallahassee, accidentally taking a rental car with stolen goods in the trunk. If the movie reminds me of one film from the Coens' filmography, it would be Crimewave, their first writing credit for Sam Raimi's forgotten Evil Dead follow-up. Both films are nutty caper parody films that basically cover schmuck pulled into shady shenanigans, while also being stylized with broad humor. Very little of Drive-Away Dolls feels like a portrayal of reality. Every actor looks like they're putting on a performance of a caricature, angles and lighting are ostentatious, and everything is theatrically exaggerated for comedic effect. It's unfortunate it's only moderately amusing instead of a riot. I giggled quite a few times and maintained a steady stream of amusement, but the film never really picked itself up off the ground. It tries to. Sometimes way too hard. The film's reliance on very heavy lesbian sex-driven dialogue comes off more as a male-indulging kink that is being bellowed out to the world rather than a storytelling device. Sometimes the film's matter-of-factly sexcapades is rambunctious and loveable, and in others it just slows the plot down just so Margare Qualley can divebomb her face into a woman's crotch. It's a stop-and-go ride that make the movie's eighty minute runtime seem longer than it should, but it's not one that necessarily should be avoided.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DTbcLonkZ0oV_kfFgDfsligpH3X59iUqx9LPq83oKQZLdr46P-I8CaJCyfUSYg1UD8uDpcRx70JNlFToTpBBhbPzfELzmhGKCpw840WpoEN_M2Z9MLuOl6cBYOfejGP3CgEbR7_DNGZpEUb8Na8SAEKI6NluD5cNZ1-mSxvxglwk9f2F8MjXJ2p-tG34/s1500/MV5BYmY2YmEyYTItYjA4Yy00MTNmLTg1ZDgtNjFlM2QzMDI4MTM2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjM4NTM5NDY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DTbcLonkZ0oV_kfFgDfsligpH3X59iUqx9LPq83oKQZLdr46P-I8CaJCyfUSYg1UD8uDpcRx70JNlFToTpBBhbPzfELzmhGKCpw840WpoEN_M2Z9MLuOl6cBYOfejGP3CgEbR7_DNGZpEUb8Na8SAEKI6NluD5cNZ1-mSxvxglwk9f2F8MjXJ2p-tG34/s320/MV5BYmY2YmEyYTItYjA4Yy00MTNmLTg1ZDgtNjFlM2QzMDI4MTM2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjM4NTM5NDY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><b>Ordinary Angels</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Drama, Faith</div><div>Director: Jon Gunn</div><div>Starring: Hillary Swank, Alan Ritchson, Nancy Travis, Tamala Jones</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R1vn8kPgCYA" width="320" youtube-src-id="R1vn8kPgCYA"></iframe></div><br />Hillary Swank flirts with the audience in this charisma-filled drama where she plays a recovering alcoholic hairdresser who tries to help a widower with medical bills for his ill daughter. Based on a true story from the mid-90s, Ordinary Angels gets by on Swank's effortless chatterbox appeal, and her chemistry with former Ninja Turtle Alan Ritchson is more endearing than one might expect. The film will lay the schmaltz on thick, which will be one audience's flavor and another's distaste. It's not unusual for faith filmmaking to do this, though, in more movies than not, it's unearned. Ordinary Angels puts the effort into itself to make it work, to tell an uplifting story about people helping each other. Occasionally it will slip up, such as Swank flavorfully talking a hospital into wiping clean $400,000 in debt with a trite speech (I have no clue if this actually happened or not, but it's the most eye-rolling moment in the movie). Like it's subjects, it's an imperfect entity. The people who will love it won't change a thing about it, though.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIjFH3bkF2wXhRjJWm4nPNpxjLg-UlKbOvmo5rJ74-VT_JWHsmmCkmTaFT747IJtF16o3Drz8jqrMPPQ5kTw37JRtPlOYbBA32e4JncWuUC1GYKCfYizI5K8fahWzQ_ubTW1ka_ZzgmKQ2ViuNZqpwspQCdTXZIAu6cAZKBwL-oSBlOOY6ogK0AdzDTsh/s1481/MV5BYWIwMzQ4MTgtMDBlZi00M2VhLTg3YTgtYjNmZjY1OGU5MTRhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTkwMDI1NDg@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIjFH3bkF2wXhRjJWm4nPNpxjLg-UlKbOvmo5rJ74-VT_JWHsmmCkmTaFT747IJtF16o3Drz8jqrMPPQ5kTw37JRtPlOYbBA32e4JncWuUC1GYKCfYizI5K8fahWzQ_ubTW1ka_ZzgmKQ2ViuNZqpwspQCdTXZIAu6cAZKBwL-oSBlOOY6ogK0AdzDTsh/s320/MV5BYWIwMzQ4MTgtMDBlZi00M2VhLTg3YTgtYjNmZjY1OGU5MTRhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTkwMDI1NDg@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Seagrass</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Meredith Hama-Brown</div><div>Starring: Ally Maki, Luke Roberts, Nyah Huang-Breitkeuz, Remy MarthalleeraChris Pang, Hannah Bos</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZfTunj5wVd4" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZfTunj5wVd4"></iframe></div><br />An interracial family go on a therapy retreat in this Canadian indie that analyzes the the complexities of human emotion. Each family member has their own journey, as the mother works through emotional and racial barriers between her and her husband, the husband struggles to understand what is wrong with his marriage and why they're there, the older daughter works to fit in among peers, and the youngest daughter deals with loneliness and the fears that come within being in a strange environment. The authenticity the film is it's greatest strength, because everyone featured in the film feels real and lived in. It is also enhanced by its intense cinematography choices, which cause the film's thematic elements to echo. It's an excellent look at personal isolation even when we're with others, and an emotional journey in a film that's powerful and devastating in ways you wouldn't expect.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyyl0ZO1wqY_N8XjJps3QXBF1Yrb-XcBrKSwX1XanlxjpAJZ4R5H0A4iR8VL7gWRvcNTgVoklUqr-69wWHceITcAFw_9RYkp6tmsAGOwEvY0b84VbddvX7f5FhH2ua7NIWI-hZFsGFKEtAItaHjoZjDufHjzYnHYWiChDL5GAAKPSb0L1TJI9U5PeHokS/s1481/MV5BNzFjNGFiNGYtMWZkNC00NTg1LTlkNTAtNDVlZDgyYmZkMWI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEzNTU4NTMz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyyl0ZO1wqY_N8XjJps3QXBF1Yrb-XcBrKSwX1XanlxjpAJZ4R5H0A4iR8VL7gWRvcNTgVoklUqr-69wWHceITcAFw_9RYkp6tmsAGOwEvY0b84VbddvX7f5FhH2ua7NIWI-hZFsGFKEtAItaHjoZjDufHjzYnHYWiChDL5GAAKPSb0L1TJI9U5PeHokS/s320/MV5BNzFjNGFiNGYtMWZkNC00NTg1LTlkNTAtNDVlZDgyYmZkMWI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEzNTU4NTMz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Stolen Valley</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Adventure, Action</div><div>Director: Jesse Edwards</div><div>Starring: Eileen Sutton Hethcoat, Briza Covarrubias</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bgVrCOMZiiM" width="320" youtube-src-id="bgVrCOMZiiM"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Spirited, but uneven, gal pal neo-western chase movie sees a woman who ventures to meet her mysterious father who is accidentally hijacked by another woman running from a man who put a bounty on her head. The movie lacks a sturdy script, coming off very stilted and hastily constructed (and it has a habit of thinking you can just walk off a bullet to the leg), but it's not without its pleasures. Eileen Sutton Hethcoat and Briza Covarrubias are appealing leads, there is quality landscape cinematography, and the film is enveloped in themes of Native American heritage. It's not a creative movie, and it presents itself as something meatier than it is. That aspect feels deceptive, but the movie's self confidence is admirable.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQe2e0Pgh3jbKghHXRfh6GcQ7Znqd7sAWvLcn7xAnAk-cUKM1MnpzXFh-tdIPLq0XYMDGlgF2BMtYqry0-GtPY6r6siIAa7uQYTiXvWOBvkmaXk82DFxeglxYNA3odiz-Th_xSyDcUqZh67PqpORD7J4p4sogbymcEKFcJwbDLCMar3INhBA3xEyQSZmz9/s1500/MV5BYTcwMjA2MzctNjU0NC00OWRkLWJlMzMtZDBjNjViZjEyMzgwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQe2e0Pgh3jbKghHXRfh6GcQ7Znqd7sAWvLcn7xAnAk-cUKM1MnpzXFh-tdIPLq0XYMDGlgF2BMtYqry0-GtPY6r6siIAa7uQYTiXvWOBvkmaXk82DFxeglxYNA3odiz-Th_xSyDcUqZh67PqpORD7J4p4sogbymcEKFcJwbDLCMar3INhBA3xEyQSZmz9/s320/MV5BYTcwMjA2MzctNjU0NC00OWRkLWJlMzMtZDBjNjViZjEyMzgwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><b>Stopmotion</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Robert Morgan</div><div>Starring: Aisling Fanciosi</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Debr5KI1QIU" width="320" youtube-src-id="Debr5KI1QIU"></iframe></div><br /><div>This British film (which will also release on Shudder in a few weeks) tells of an emotionally abused stop-motion animator who's life becomes more maddening as she creates a new film. From King Kong to Nightmare Before Christmas, stop-motion always seemed to have an intimate relationship with the macabre, so it doesn't surprise me to see a horror movie homage to the format. The movie is a loving ode to the craft, while also creating a dark fantasy about the artistic process. Unfortunately, it's also slow burn to a fault. The third act is an unnerving treasure, and Aisling Fanciosi is terrific in it, and I respect that the film wants to earn it, but the movie has a hard time making keeping its story engrossing until that point. The animation sections are always the most interesting, but when it cuts to the actors, the film is a bore. Suddenly the movie grows its own personality as it leans into its own madness, and the film becomes an unhinged gem. It's too bad it doesn't feel alive until then.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><u>Oscar Nominees</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">20 Days in Mariupol</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The ABCs of Book Banning</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The After</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div>American Symphany (N/A)<br /><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Barber of Little Rock</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> </b><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>El Conde (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Elemental</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Eternal Memory</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Flamin' Hot</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Four Daughters (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Golda</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Io Capitano (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Invincible</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Island in Between</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Knight of Fortune</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Last Repair Shop</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Letter to a Pig</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Maestro</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">May December</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Năi Nai & Wài Pó</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Nimona</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Ninety-Five Senses</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Nyad (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Our Uniform</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Pachyderme</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Perfect Days (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Red, White, and Blue</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Robot Dreams (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Rustin</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Society of the Snow</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">The Teachers' Lounge</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>To Kill a Tiger (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Zone of Interest</a> ⭐⭐⭐</b>1/2</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Argylle</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Beekeeper</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Bob Marley: One Love</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Land of Bad</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">Lisa Frankenstein</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Madame Web</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-7.html">Oscar Nominated Short Films</a></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">All of Us Strangers</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">Frued's Last Session</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">Mean Girls</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-5.html">The Zone of Interest</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U2Qp5pL3ovA" width="320" youtube-src-id="U2Qp5pL3ovA"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-90360642466788256042024-02-19T06:59:00.001-07:002024-02-19T06:59:30.506-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 7 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPZV90MzEbXUweS2UuzGltFic836m-fgKUnxf-ab3B7YTaW6wN6DCGHzHtGC2PAU0O03awU9cO7uWCJWwMpHPcUgRDAyouu_n6Lqtgk-X5YToeJW3OMWrC2ShjuKdztd039noFB3zRGxKfpbvRB11af84Pa7Dzz6j1mLgbxP7tVEZGj2-IvJwYtlYlIby/s1481/MV5BY2U4M2NmY2ItMjAyNC00NzM1LTg3ZTEtNzVlYjEzNTE5NDI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPZV90MzEbXUweS2UuzGltFic836m-fgKUnxf-ab3B7YTaW6wN6DCGHzHtGC2PAU0O03awU9cO7uWCJWwMpHPcUgRDAyouu_n6Lqtgk-X5YToeJW3OMWrC2ShjuKdztd039noFB3zRGxKfpbvRB11af84Pa7Dzz6j1mLgbxP7tVEZGj2-IvJwYtlYlIby/s320/MV5BY2U4M2NmY2ItMjAyNC00NzM1LTg3ZTEtNzVlYjEzNTE5NDI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Bob Marley: One Love</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green</div><div>Starring: Kingsly Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ajw425Kuvtw" width="320" youtube-src-id="ajw425Kuvtw"></iframe></div><br />Get ready for those sweet reggae beats, because it's Bob Marley's turn for a biopic. This film primarily covers Marley fleeing Jamaica and putting together his final few albums, primarily Exodus. I think for Marley fans who are intimately familiar with his work, One Love works as a small window into his life. It's not as ambitiously encompassing as other biopics, choosing to keep things narrow and tight without succumbing to bloat. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't have any rhythm to it, which seems sacrilegious because if anybody knew rhythm, it was Bob Marley. The narrative is choppy and sloppy, sometimes feeling like it's not going anywhere. The movie does a trust-fall in hoping the audience bears with it as it gets ponderous, and it's lucky it has its smooth soundtrack to keep it enticing. Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch both give performances worthy of award consideration, but unless it was in a movie far more memorable than this, it's doubtful they'll be remembered by year's end.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEneX1YqfbBASURFLx_0V77QRKWs_8DWksUicepRvgi8q2iVC2UFbgjjm-RIzl0IsNEAt3aoTyOKQeUTS-K52inwfyUUFmoY_BKuvT9gcVOZrgKp1EW-UCikh_gkGKT_FyQH2ZLd6FQbVky_02a2wVSX56D5LRq74YsDuJ8EhyuLrsZErLUQZoKkCkdRTx/s1477/MV5BMzkyOTUzYTUtY2UzYS00MjY4LTljZWYtYzMyMmZlMWYwMjQ5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1477" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEneX1YqfbBASURFLx_0V77QRKWs_8DWksUicepRvgi8q2iVC2UFbgjjm-RIzl0IsNEAt3aoTyOKQeUTS-K52inwfyUUFmoY_BKuvT9gcVOZrgKp1EW-UCikh_gkGKT_FyQH2ZLd6FQbVky_02a2wVSX56D5LRq74YsDuJ8EhyuLrsZErLUQZoKkCkdRTx/s320/MV5BMzkyOTUzYTUtY2UzYS00MjY4LTljZWYtYzMyMmZlMWYwMjQ5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><b>Land of Bad</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: War, Action, Adventure</div><div>Director: William Eubank</div><div>Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Russell Crowe, Luke Hemsworth, Ricky Whittle, Milo Ventimiglia</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gfkNmJdP_3I" width="320" youtube-src-id="gfkNmJdP_3I"></iframe></div><br />Starring Russell Crowe and every Hemsworth that isn't the famous one, Land of Bad is one of those dad-targeted movies that centers on a military ops mission with lots of jargon and gunfire thrown in, seeing Liam Hemsworth playing a soldier battling obstacles on his way to an emergency evac. It's like Behind Enemy Lines, but less straightforward. Land of Bad's biggest weakness is how hamfisted its attempts are at making its situation go sideways, sometimes going out of its way to do so. The effort is admirable, as the idea seems to be chaotic look at warfare, we're given only the information that our soldiers have and experiencing it through their eyes. That gets across, though the narrative can suffer because of it. Liam Hemsworth is a solid lead, often coming off as a demo reel to be cast as Captain America should Marvel ever need a new one. The film is directed with style to spare by Underwater filmmaker William Eubank, keeping the film constantly brisk and exciting. It's a film that will be fully embraced by its audience, though mileage may vary should you be outside it's demo.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FZuh96HUV6wxavcVbfAn6MYWbDwXgPSMGSoKyhRc6SZwpB7brq-q2YkBjFAawAvaiATreu0jxrlA60ZOCijaM26Ejf7w6JEHhpv48xMpU4ahdaO-zTtuUXjCtNfRk5_RatNgxKtWCTVfAmCdfAVgWLuosIRni0zqLE9E3_g54Mu5M9Fy3t9qGKXWkvAO/s1482/MV5BYWJkY2Q4NmYtOGRlMi00YTg5LWE2ZmQtY2NkYzk3YTRmNWZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FZuh96HUV6wxavcVbfAn6MYWbDwXgPSMGSoKyhRc6SZwpB7brq-q2YkBjFAawAvaiATreu0jxrlA60ZOCijaM26Ejf7w6JEHhpv48xMpU4ahdaO-zTtuUXjCtNfRk5_RatNgxKtWCTVfAmCdfAVgWLuosIRni0zqLE9E3_g54Mu5M9Fy3t9qGKXWkvAO/s320/MV5BYWJkY2Q4NmYtOGRlMi00YTg5LWE2ZmQtY2NkYzk3YTRmNWZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Madame Web</b></div><div>⭐️</div><div>🏆 <i>"Hurts So Good" Must-See Bad Movie Award</i></div><div>Genre: Superhero, Fantasy, Adventure, Action</div><div>Director: S.J. Clarkson</div><div>Starring: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O'Connor, Isabella Merced, Tahar Rahlm, Adam Scott, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s_76M4c4LTo" width="320" youtube-src-id="s_76M4c4LTo"></iframe></div><br />Look, I'm up for adapting any obscure comic book character to the big screen you can name. Anybody who thinks differently is someone I'll never see eye-to-eye with, and they can pry my 4K copy of Howard the Duck out of my cold, dead hands. I'm skeptical of Sony's attempts to create solo films out of Spider-Man villains, not because I don't want them, but because they haven't given any indication that they're going to be made in good faith and affection for these characters. Deep down, I can see how Venom and Morbius can work as their own franchises, though I'd have preferred them done better. I can vaguely see it for Kraven, too, however Kraven's most interesting ambition is his determination to hunt Spider-Man and eliminating that deflates him. Madame Web is an interesting choice, largely because I never expected to see her in a movie at all, let alone headlining one without Spider-Man. She largely exists as someone who just spews cryptic shit for the webslinger to decipher, and as far as I know, she's never been much of an action hero. But still, she is more of a character than El Muerto, so this was never the worst idea for a movie on Sony's slate. But then Madame Web came out, and whew boy. Few movies are bigger disasters than this one.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I want to make two things abundantly clear: This movie is really fucking stupid, and I loved every minute of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story of this movie that probably shouldn't exist sees Dakota Johnson's title heroine suddenly having visions of the future, and she stumbles across three teenage girls who are fated to be killed by a man with spider powers. That's just skimming the surface of this garbled stew of nonsense. When I watch a movie like Batman & Robin, I understand what it's doing. I get what it wants to be. Madame Web is something else. The weird Spider-Man call-forwards including a villain who dresses like him, out of body sequences that are just chaotic noise, the concentrated effort in trying to make Sydney Sweeney look frumpy...Madame Web is filled to the brim with decisions so baffling that the only explanation is that they were trying to be innovative and are failing spectacularly at it. The movie takes a stab at a uniqueness in crafting action around a character who can see the future, which is similar to a Nicolas Cage movie called Next, but they scale it down and try to be more creative with it. Next is a better movie, though, and if you know how laughed out of theaters that movie was, that should tell you something. Despite what it tries to craft with the action, the movie isn't really all that much of an action movie. It centers on four women who are just stuck in an action scenario and don't know what to do. When the movie requires them to do a big stunt, they'll do it, even though it also feels as if they're out of character while doing it. Underlining all of this is the film's desperation to remind you it's Spider-Man related, doing Spider-Man references often and in full force for a character that isn't even born yet (the film features his pregnant mother as a supporting character). I assume they're trying to use this to enhance themes of fate and influence, but it all becomes a hot mess when your bad guy is basically Spider-Man if he were a prick.</div><div><br /></div><div>This all boils down to the flaw that they chose to do a Madame Web movie at all. She's a limited character who can be interesting, but not like this. It feels like she's only being used to fish for interest in a Spider-Women movie with the brat pack heroines of this movie. If you want to do a Spider-Women move, do a Spider-Women movie. These women who are pretending to be teenagers are all in their 20's anyway, why this charade? Madame Web is just a trailer for that, albeit with cheap cosplay costumes and really bad ADR reading connecting those shots of the future lady heroes.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, I had fun with it. As a movie that completely tanked itself, I had a lot of lols watching it go down in flames. There is even stuff in this movie that I loved. I like how Dakota Johnson is fumbling around in this movie without an actual plan. There is a part that she thinks she has spider powers and tries to climb a wall that made me laugh. I even think Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabella Merced, and Celeste O'Connor would be great in a proper superhero movie. It's stuff that makes it evident that the people making this movie really wanted it to be something. Oh, it's something alright. Too bad that "something" is the worst film based on a Marvel comic since the 90's Captain America film. But, I got to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. I haven't gotten this much enjoyment out of a bad movie since Ouija Shark.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QE-GP_feZzMPhE2h5UCSn51eoEk55DdqZRECBp-refV_5HoCMXn3s3Mcja1jOoy8I4KH4WzMPe4rJkV9DZOy9WyUeWkATDhxbOvKxZHVtunFMnhfyudOW82NcPr6Je2LXaEauENOHgRNK_j-DNq6CtS_ITsmEiYOvXZsHI7crNEeXZ2cpOBqjQNMQGPj/s1034/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzL2QzMTJjY2JkLTEzMzgtNDhmMy05ZmUzLTVmMDc2Yzk3ZDVlYi5qcGc=.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QE-GP_feZzMPhE2h5UCSn51eoEk55DdqZRECBp-refV_5HoCMXn3s3Mcja1jOoy8I4KH4WzMPe4rJkV9DZOy9WyUeWkATDhxbOvKxZHVtunFMnhfyudOW82NcPr6Je2LXaEauENOHgRNK_j-DNq6CtS_ITsmEiYOvXZsHI7crNEeXZ2cpOBqjQNMQGPj/s320/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzL2QzMTJjY2JkLTEzMzgtNDhmMy05ZmUzLTVmMDc2Yzk3ZDVlYi5qcGc=.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><b>Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation</b></div><div><i>Letter to a Pig</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>A classroom listens to an account of a Holocaust survivor, who reads them a letter he wrote to a pig who he claims saved his life. Interesting use of live action with animation rotoscoped on top of it, ensuring the look of this short is very striking. I felt my interest waning as it got more surreal and expressionistic, but the lovely craft of this short helped make it a standout.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Ninety-Five Senses</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Napoleon Dynamite creators Jared and Jerusha Hess helped made this short, which sees Tim Blake Nelson play a man reflecting on how his life shaped out through the sensation of his five senses. Interesting turns don't entirely capture my waning interest in this short, which has a mildly interesting premise that, if I'm being honest, feels slightly disconnected from the "senses" storytelling device, because his senses feel irrelevant to certain events that transpire and are quite possibly the least compelling thing going on. Nelson also goes full hammy redneck in his performance, which gets tiresome after several minutes. Admirable effort that just didn't click for me.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Our Uniform</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Up there with Letter to a Pig as one of the more uniquely animated efforts here, Our Uniform is a short that is told through what appears to be stop-motion on fabric, showing the story of an Iranian girl and her restrictive life in school. The story feels more like a diary entry than a narrative, but the look of the short kept me engaged and charmed throughout. Such beautiful textures and colors, this animated effort pops.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Pachyderme</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>A French film stylized like a bedtime story grows darker as it goes on, as a woman recounts her childhood stays with her grandparents, in which traumatic experiences seem to be glossed over. The film is more of a metaphor than a narrative, opting a simplistic and muted view on what is implied to be a horrific experience. It feels therapeutic, but it also feels like it hasn't taken the whole journey. What more could be done with this is beyond me, because this isn't my artistic expression, but I also can't shake the feeling that it only barely reached what it grasped.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>This one is a bit silly if you think about it too hard, but it's lovingly animated and is full of schmaltzy spirit, which has two World War I soldiers on opposing sides playing chess via a carrier pigeon. And, of course, there is also music from John Lennon and Yoko Ono, like the title implies. There is a heartfelt metaphor of soldiers being people in the middle of a bad situation that requires the worst of them, while the short is more for "the feels" than anything stirring. It's still a lovely little short that I think animation lovers will appreciate.</div><div><br /></div><div>BONUS:</div><div>*It appears that our short films only ran a combined fifty minutes this year, so the venue threw in a couple of bonuses from the shortlist that probably would have went unseen otherwise.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Wild Summon</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>This short relates the life cycle of salmon...except they're people in scuba suits? Weird, body horror vibes from this one, which combines live action landscapes with animated fish people. I believe the intent was to show off such an alien way of life as if it were happening to humans, while asking "This is pretty fucked up, right?" It is. Very. Let's not speak of this again.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>I'm Hip</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Moana director John Musker helms this animation over a song performed by David Frischberg, where a cat sings about how much of a cool cat he is. Didn't care for this one, which felt like someone had a lot of fondness for those animated prime-time Garfield specials from the 80's, complete with jazzy musical numbers and a singing feline, while stylized like someone with a lot of fondness for The Aristocats and Oliver & Company. All of these are things that I like, but this was just a four-minute overload of razzamatazz that I didn't particularly enjoy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action</b></div><div><i>The After</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>A former businessman becomes a taxi driver after the sudden loss of his wife and daughter, who confronts his grief face-on when his latest fare is a family that looks just like the one he lost. A portrayal of a man avoiding grief, this short can be a bit on-the-nose. Sometimes it just whisks up its story too much, and it comes off as either over-thought or under-thought at different points, though it is still a moving piece.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Invincible</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>A troubled teen in a detention center longs to run away from his problems, but finds the further he runs, the more they follow him. Angsty teen drama feels like it's a metaphor for the struggles of change, when one feels so broken that they double down on the path they're on, even when they show promise of being something better. The short struggles to break free of repetitveness, but it's also based on a true story, so I feel like the filmmakers were a bit cornered in how to play it out. The film's title choice is interesting, relating the youthful feeling of immortality even as one takes a self-destructive journey.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0M0VQ7UcefkWkLHZMuRlGDhW0yPhRcNFYM-B9NhqAAb8myG7HOi2bbm8kAGmzzgpchYN7IbvYtI3SgSW7cJD8hUdo38NTkZHYNZJRucvSmSAYwqoZ3pJsS1la1xUMjRvRyRlH6Nl_rGT5fY5LlsE7qCVb87PnY22hXJK24_MD_g24_vpjNtGgXslTW3m/s220/invincible-alan-cumming.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="92" data-original-width="220" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0M0VQ7UcefkWkLHZMuRlGDhW0yPhRcNFYM-B9NhqAAb8myG7HOi2bbm8kAGmzzgpchYN7IbvYtI3SgSW7cJD8hUdo38NTkZHYNZJRucvSmSAYwqoZ3pJsS1la1xUMjRvRyRlH6Nl_rGT5fY5LlsE7qCVb87PnY22hXJK24_MD_g24_vpjNtGgXslTW3m/s1600/invincible-alan-cumming.gif" width="220" /></a></div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Knight of Fortune</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Like The After, Knight of Fortune is another short about grief, though it's more nuanced about it. This short sees a man who has lost his wife, but finds himself unable to open the casket, who meets another man at the morgue who seems to have the same issue. Contemplative, but surprisingly funny, this short has a few unexpected turns on the way to its surprisingly sweet ending. It takes a while to get going, but it is one worth seeing through to the finish.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Red, White and Blue</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>What seems like it was filmed as a reaction to the Dobbs decision, this short sees a woman crossing state lines in emergency need of an abortion. It's a timely issue, though it's also one that doesn't press as hard as it could. The film makes the unique choice in being told through misdirection and mystery boxes that pay off later. It's not frustrating, as it's only twenty minutes long, though it feels like it was filmed for its twist over its story, which holds it back. Women (and men) who support Roe v Wade will probably want to seek this short out and champion it, regardless of its faults, though.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</i></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Look, I'm not the one who's opinion you should listen to on Wes Anderson. I've always felt a little bit of Anderson goes a long way, and I'm just thankful this was a short and not a feature. Anderson did a series of shorts for Netflix that adapted short stories from Roald Dahl, of which The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar seems to be the singled-out champion. The story tells of the strange tale of Henry Sugar, who learns an uncanny ability to cheat at cards but grows morality along the way. It features a traditionally stacked Wes Anderson cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, and Richard Ayoade, all delivering Anderson's trademark wit and Dahl's trademark whimsey. I enjoyed this, mostly, because I just appreciated that I didn't have the opportunity to grow tired of it. That was not for a lack of trying, as it goes on for long patches with lengthy stories that usually tell the same joke over-and-over again. But short-form does wonders for Anderson. I'd probably be a fan if all of his movies were this long.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdDQttWarrcvQi00UZRFuCEHr-is6cFs_RMk8rocQZGdt-SKcOK3k-luRbmeSG1nv7lCgUKNE8XlniTM1DLJhGNDYAwd43PzEMA91-LG_jk0pr5D4vTOpS0WkVkzaPjpaIZjo-Mcgt-Fw4li9H74Jx_YprvuyvMgqd4xrS0xKkj70JMcwcHXqtNJkbUVr/s1481/MV5BZGQxNWJhZDEtZTAyNC00ZmMyLWFlZGYtZjRjOWM4MjQwMTMwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdDQttWarrcvQi00UZRFuCEHr-is6cFs_RMk8rocQZGdt-SKcOK3k-luRbmeSG1nv7lCgUKNE8XlniTM1DLJhGNDYAwd43PzEMA91-LG_jk0pr5D4vTOpS0WkVkzaPjpaIZjo-Mcgt-Fw4li9H74Jx_YprvuyvMgqd4xrS0xKkj70JMcwcHXqtNJkbUVr/s320/MV5BZGQxNWJhZDEtZTAyNC00ZmMyLWFlZGYtZjRjOWM4MjQwMTMwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><b><br />The Taste of Things</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Tran Ahn Hung</div><div>Starring: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cKKCGtoIOVY" width="320" youtube-src-id="cKKCGtoIOVY"></iframe></div><br />France raised some eyebrows when they chose not to submit Anatomy of a Fall for Best International Film at the Oscars, choosing instead to favor The Taste of Things. Anatomy of a Fall wound up getting nominated for Best Picture instead, while Taste of Things got thrown in with the leftovers. It was a shortsighted move, because Anatomy of a Fall is a better, more interesting movie. The Taste of Things is quite good too, but it leans a bit more heavily in contemplative drama rather the heated drama of the moment, of which I've always found the latter far more appealing. The Taste of Things is, above all else, a film about art and appreciation of it, choosing to use the art form of filmmaking to portray culinary art. It's a hurdle, because two thirds of culinary art are smell and taste, but the visual appeal still strikes. The film centers on a restaurant owner who takes pride in his craft, and is madly in love with his cook, and together they create exquisite dishes that few can replicate. Combining the film's themes of art is also a theme about love, as the two prove to be perfect collaborators who are perfectly in sync with each other. The film tends to grow a bit wearisome though it's extensive sequences of food preparation, of which it hopes to enchant without ever really developing a flow to its presentation, but the beauty of creation keeps the film intact. The movie can get too big for its britches because of its own indulgence, but that seems poetic for a film about food.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Oscar's Trash Can</u></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQSp5qPRwMONwdoYcwc1vSSXvLpZTzJBDZ6k22mGv7nI-5b5U-eawnmcx8RtumddkvuyuEILXlG80fIZP423RM7UtMNdrye-dVsWnXTbQibQPyzrowxtWtFg7P6uJ34nFK3nM8iWsL-1XThs6D5XMrVrOa3UZxu1WD_Hi_nsL5HhsDkJ_uLL_hI-7YFhp/s1481/MV5BZWRiNWRiZjAtYWFhMS00MWE5LTk0OTQtMzIxNzc0YmVmZGEwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzAyMzE2MzM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQSp5qPRwMONwdoYcwc1vSSXvLpZTzJBDZ6k22mGv7nI-5b5U-eawnmcx8RtumddkvuyuEILXlG80fIZP423RM7UtMNdrye-dVsWnXTbQibQPyzrowxtWtFg7P6uJ34nFK3nM8iWsL-1XThs6D5XMrVrOa3UZxu1WD_Hi_nsL5HhsDkJ_uLL_hI-7YFhp/s320/MV5BZWRiNWRiZjAtYWFhMS00MWE5LTk0OTQtMzIxNzc0YmVmZGEwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzAyMzE2MzM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />20 Days in Mariupol</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐⭐⭐</b></div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best Documentary</div><div>Genre: Documentary</div><div>Director: Mstyslav Chernov</div><div>Starring: Mstyslav Chernov</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9H_Fg_5x4ME" width="320" youtube-src-id="9H_Fg_5x4ME"></iframe></div><br />This harrowing, gut-punch of a documentary is not for the faint of heart. The film can be very graphic, and also features the deaths of real people, including very young children and infants. But it's powerful imagery that demands to be shown, as 20 Days in Mariupol chronicles the earliest days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, taking place in the war-ravaged city of Mariupol over the span of three weeks. A group of journalists who are still in the city use whatever tactics they can to film what they see and spread it to news outlets across the globe. It's biting stuff, but it's also haunting. The siege of Mariupol is relentless, and the footage is striking. The stakes they risked just to gain internet access to spread it also bring unexpected tension, only to have the Russian government try and deny everything shown as a form of propaganda. Seeing everything rolled out in this film makes it even more evident that everything that was shown is real, and it's also an outrage.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of note, I watched this just after the breaking news that Alexei Navalny died in prison, which is notable because he was the subject of last year's Best Documentary winner and was a political rival of Vladimir Putin. I feel this and Navalny make a good combination for anyone who wants to go more in-depth with the atrocities that Putin has committed, though Navalny is a less heavy watch, so you may want to watch it first. May Navalny rest in power, hopefully knowing these images are still being spread throughout the world and will hopefully bring about an end to Putin's reign.</div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIT9CtfUl18FmdSbie9CmXK04plQAcONYWMP7UNiDFbdpc5cL9YOymGxFOMbwEBtSLcg9mhBSp9CG0XsX66Mt4gOGnHVsQh0Ryow_xQ8YRZUc2g1nrvCueok4q9STLFSKyirJQwVSjxQrDVfShCHXJ_gU6d9R_8svmyivbZKXPlHLazSxc0L8kMN04__S2/s1034/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzL2QzMTJjY2JkLTEzMzgtNDhmMy05ZmUzLTVmMDc2Yzk3ZDVlYi5qcGc=.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIT9CtfUl18FmdSbie9CmXK04plQAcONYWMP7UNiDFbdpc5cL9YOymGxFOMbwEBtSLcg9mhBSp9CG0XsX66Mt4gOGnHVsQh0Ryow_xQ8YRZUc2g1nrvCueok4q9STLFSKyirJQwVSjxQrDVfShCHXJ_gU6d9R_8svmyivbZKXPlHLazSxc0L8kMN04__S2/s320/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzL2QzMTJjY2JkLTEzMzgtNDhmMy05ZmUzLTVmMDc2Yzk3ZDVlYi5qcGc=.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary</b></div><div><i>The ABCs of Book Banning</i></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>It's been no secret that certain states have been going on book banning sprees of late, and the fact that someone made a documentary on the subject isn't surprising. You probably could have gone feature-length on this topic (especially the books that teach objective history), but The ABCs of Book Banning aims to primarily show the reactions of children, those who have no say in what their state does and does not want them to read. The intentions are noble, but the sad truth is that most people who are already aware of this issue already have their minds made up on it, and those who are in favor of book banning are probably more likely to just be angry that this documentary has the children discussing topics that they would rather have them sheltered from. This documentary has heart, but it's not really informative. We get a list of books that have been banned, and while I personally agree that the practice is unfair, there is no discussion made about the subject matter in the books, who is banning them, and how best to contest it. Instead, it's all "This sucks." Yes, it does. Unfortunately, this documentary isn't going to change that.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Barber of Little Rock</i></div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>This glint of optimism amidst the sad truths of systematic racism takes a look at Arlo Washington, a barber in Arkansas who created a community bank to help out African Americans in need when the banks fail them. Narrative is rather light in this documentary, because it largely feels like Washington's story is nowhere close to being finished. This is instead an in-depth look at the positive impact he has had on his community, with interviews of the people he has helped over the years talking about their experiences that led to Washington filling this need in their lives. Their stories can be sad, but the tone of the piece is uplifting. It feels like this could be the start of something great, and the documentary shares that rather well.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Island in Between</i></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Filmmaker S. Leo Chiang visits the island of Kinmen, a small piece of land that Taiwan used to defend itself against China during the Chinese Civil War. He then relates to the viewer his relationship to Taiwan, China, and the United States, pondering which country he considers himself a true citizen of. This is an interesting piece, though I'd say it comes off as a bit of a video diary. I think those who are familiar with the history of Kinmen already will probably gain the most from Chiang's ponderings, and I'll admit that I'm not fully up to speed on Chinese-Taiwanese relations and politics. The shots of Kinmen are excellent, and I yearned to learn more. That wasn't the goal of this documentary, so I can only consider that a me-problem. It's a poetic take on Chiang's inner turmoil, though.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Last Repair Shop</i></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>This documentary takes a look at a dying breed of repair centers that specializes in refurbishing musical instruments for students. The concept is rather simple for a documentary that still pushes forty minutes, which one can test patience as it sometimes treads water with students talking about their love of music. It's not irrelevant, though one would hope it would jump into the meat a bit quicker. We then get some in-depth conversations with the people who work on the instruments, some telling their backstories, which can range from sad to incredible. It's a bit of a ride, because the documentary can feel tedious at some points and compelling in others, though it wins the day by pressing its moral of "What's broken can usually be fixed."</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Năi Nai & Wài Pó</i></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Meet Năi Nai and Wài Pó, the grandmothers of filmmaker Sean Wang, who's daily lives are captured on film for a good twenty minutes, as we get to watch them chat, dance, accuse each other of farting, all kinds of stuff. Those who watch documentaries to learn something new will likely leave Năi Nai & Wài Pó without much, as this short is more of Wang's tribute to two women he loves dearly. There's not much to glean from it other than entertainment value, and the documentary can be very, very funny at the best of times. I enjoyed spending time with Năi Nai and Wài Pó, and I'm happy I got to meet them. As a work itself, it gets by on personality more than anything, though.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><u>Oscar Nominees</u></div><div>20 Days in Mariupol ⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><div>The ABCs of Book Banning ⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The After ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div>American Symphany (N/A)<br /><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>The Barber of Little Rock ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> </b><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>El Conde (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Elemental</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Eternal Memory</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Flamin' Hot</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Four Daughters (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Golda</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Io Capitano (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Invincible ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Island in Between ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Knight of Fortune ⭐⭐⭐</div><div>The Last Repair Shop ⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Letter to a Pig ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Maestro</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">May December</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Năi Nai & Wài Pó ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Nimona</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Ninety-Five Senses ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Nyad (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Our Uniform ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Pachyderme ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Perfect Days (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Red, White, and Blue ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Robot Dreams (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Rustin</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Society of the Snow</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">The Teachers' Lounge</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>To Kill a Tiger (N/A)</div><div>War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Zone of Interest</a> ⭐⭐⭐</b>1/2</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div>Amélie ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Argylle</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Beekeeper</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">Lisa Frankenstein</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-1.html">Night Swim</a> ⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/02/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-6.html">Out of Darkness</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">The Iron Claw</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Hypnotic</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Marvels</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">Priscilla</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oy0RYiQRWUk" width="320" youtube-src-id="Oy0RYiQRWUk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R1vn8kPgCYA" width="320" youtube-src-id="R1vn8kPgCYA"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-1214570999887280022024-02-12T06:17:00.000-07:002024-02-12T06:17:54.232-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 6 (My Cinema Playground)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj88HxVvLtREbzy0H_5qtedCJdFd9F6FjjDgneOjOgCGNZq-9JofMqMCqBXSkTXojlvO11oNmdhiCeDik8RE7naEiUAn5SqcL1MofELzMJ4u0cu7usRB93d9hV3hdaKDY9I2Sda63UoWpAepZUx1cH2lK_T_YMipNdva2PXkDQLDGsLR6iZsC39ImLrk7b/s1481/MV5BNjJkZDExMGQtNGE2YS00YzJiLWJiNjEtNmYwZjIxZGMxNTZiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjkwOTAyMDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj88HxVvLtREbzy0H_5qtedCJdFd9F6FjjDgneOjOgCGNZq-9JofMqMCqBXSkTXojlvO11oNmdhiCeDik8RE7naEiUAn5SqcL1MofELzMJ4u0cu7usRB93d9hV3hdaKDY9I2Sda63UoWpAepZUx1cH2lK_T_YMipNdva2PXkDQLDGsLR6iZsC39ImLrk7b/s320/MV5BNjJkZDExMGQtNGE2YS00YzJiLWJiNjEtNmYwZjIxZGMxNTZiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjkwOTAyMDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Lisa Frankenstein</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Genre: Comedy, Horror, Romance</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Director: Zelda Williams</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Starring: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, Carla Gugino</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bvI3F95w8ns" width="320" youtube-src-id="bvI3F95w8ns"></iframe></div><br />Screenwriter Diablo Cody flips off those who dismissed Jennifer's Body by returning to her dark comedy sensibilities, this time aided by Zelda Williams, daughter of beloved comedian Robin Williams, making her directorial debut. Together they weave a goth fantasy romance about a young girl who accidentally reanimated a body in a cemetery, and she slowly rebuilds him out of body parts harvested from those who irritate her. Lisa Frankenstein leans heavily into its 80's horror comedy influence, and it does so really, really well. Zelda Williams approaches the movie as a bleak fairy tale, like a young Edward Scissorhands era Tim Burton, only with heavy valley girl vibes. Kathryn Newton is channeling Beetlejuice/Heathers era Winona Ryder, and absolutely owning it. The movie does so much right that it would be forgiven if you turn a blind eye to what it doesn't do as smoothly. Cody is going for a very chaotic narrative, but she plays it so deep into that chaos that it almost feels like its own coherency is escaping her. It's a movie that starts out being so lovable and offbeat but confuses itself along the way. If the film stuck the landing, this probably would have been my favorite movie of the year. Instead, it's a solid one that I had a blast watching.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWe9apqS8DQfMgnZF50j9aa9-4v5CVqOFLCJOn6M-6GBwcTmCO2oBJhBpEx_uf8JwxHXl3LcWG7_oHAZ0bmQ_XkZGyOfUkCgp7Hz9R_axHdl1WpZEK5priBZuWjs1igB5RQ_KNvtuG3UtgtXREOrrsXjAftVm5LCn64drCeuFxS6SONGovRxUM0MQaW8Q8/s1481/MV5BNjE1YWVhMmYtYzljYS00ZmRmLTkxZWYtYTAwNTJmYzFkOWZmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI0OTk4MjA4._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWe9apqS8DQfMgnZF50j9aa9-4v5CVqOFLCJOn6M-6GBwcTmCO2oBJhBpEx_uf8JwxHXl3LcWG7_oHAZ0bmQ_XkZGyOfUkCgp7Hz9R_axHdl1WpZEK5priBZuWjs1igB5RQ_KNvtuG3UtgtXREOrrsXjAftVm5LCn64drCeuFxS6SONGovRxUM0MQaW8Q8/s320/MV5BNjE1YWVhMmYtYzljYS00ZmRmLTkxZWYtYTAwNTJmYzFkOWZmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI0OTk4MjA4._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Out of Darkness</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Genre: Horror</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Director: Andrew Cumming</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Starring: Sasha Oakley-Green, Chuku Modu, Kit Young, Iola Evans, Luna Mwezi, Awo Luening</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sU_SQo1wbos" width="320" youtube-src-id="sU_SQo1wbos"></iframe></div><br />Cavemen are afraid of the dark in this indie from the UK that was filmed during Covid lockdown. It sees a tribe who begin to fear something unknown in the darkness and venture to kill it before it kills them. The movie is refreshingly unique with its approach to horror, using the genre's fear of the unknown as an allegory for alienation via xenophobia. It's a noble effort that is impressively filmed for such a small-scale picture. I just can't escape the feeling that it's only halfway there. Most of the elements feel correct, but they also feel anemic. A beefier, fleshed out version of this movie would have probably driven something more compelling, because while the goals of the film are excellent, they also don't resonate. It winds up being a forgettable movie that should have been memorable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1UkSAnzEBvDDWdYq1nvH21pZ9_dCJPhXGtvY2vOq5BGeWIh92ub3ckooCL8UsJh1CBQ5KWzou98gRk8LlE26-e9ALwRmIbnXKyzhLvrMcqQRJZFhjxKjiz4Yx4WWpz3rJRbofNQyu2bEx3wlyATG_AmB7UcHpWm5IJR7R2y0zZrjodca2B0c04LQSQC9/s1482/MV5BYjc3MTM5MzktNTUwYi00ODRjLTliOTMtYWJiZTQ2NzhlZjJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyODg5MjQw._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1UkSAnzEBvDDWdYq1nvH21pZ9_dCJPhXGtvY2vOq5BGeWIh92ub3ckooCL8UsJh1CBQ5KWzou98gRk8LlE26-e9ALwRmIbnXKyzhLvrMcqQRJZFhjxKjiz4Yx4WWpz3rJRbofNQyu2bEx3wlyATG_AmB7UcHpWm5IJR7R2y0zZrjodca2B0c04LQSQC9/s320/MV5BYjc3MTM5MzktNTUwYi00ODRjLTliOTMtYWJiZTQ2NzhlZjJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyODg5MjQw._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />The Teacher's Lounge</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oscars Nominated: Best International Feature Film</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Genre: Drama</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Director: Ílker Çatak</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Starring: Leonie Benesch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6YgQBGqhTcM" width="320" youtube-src-id="6YgQBGqhTcM"></iframe></div><br />Look, I know we already had a German-language film in the International Oscar category, but this one is actually German. Zone of Interest hailed from the UK, which is always at a disadvantage in the International category because a non-English language is a requirement, so they just happened to have a slam dunk with their drama about Nazi Germany. The Teacher's Lounge is Germany's actual submission into the race, which also had its share of hype. It's going to lose, mind you. Zone of Interest pretty much has the trophy in the bag, which is humiliating for The Teacher's Lounge, because it's losing to a German-language movie that isn't actually German (but Germany won the award last year, so it'll get over it). It deserves a glance, though. I swear, it's always worth a look down each year's Oscar list, because while some movies will be slogs (Killers of the Flower Moon) and some might be an Academy-favored niche that might not be an individual's cup of tea (The Holdovers), the hope is eventually you'll find one that hits. The Teacher's Lounge is one of those movies that makes it worth just seeing what's going on in the prestige side of cinema, even if you can't stand prestige cinema.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Teacher's Lounge is about a German school that has been experiencing thefts. As the school tries to find out who the culprit is among the student body, one teacher begins to suspect the faculty, and accidentally starts a domino effect that threatens to fracture the entire school. To shoot it straight, this movie is intense, but not in a thriller kind of way. It's a film about personal paranoia, and how finger-pointing and victimization can make civilization crumble. It's a series of events that goes from "Oh...shit" to "Oh shit" to "OH SHIT" as the situation grows out of control over the course of its breezy runtime. The film even acts as a social satire in its way, mimicking the pressures of scrutiny from outside eyes, as one's actions that seemed simple in the moment become not-so-simple to explain. The movie might be frustrating in certain elements of ambiguity and unresolved conflicts, but the film is such a whirlwind that the teacher at the center of the conflict just wants it to stop. Some people are left worse for the wear, and we never fully understand why. The movie just expects us to move on and live with it. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've felt that I've had to do that in my life.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcE7Joap8EWB1EY1J0SvTGy43LspamX1XO8bCx6zHlUT5nghadmybLxSUENBWC9wdR4ZTKNMA_QCwktoA5aexNRYKDY-csFcw2Ee4dhBy9y9VrnGNE5ze0TK05DXgJYvDKo_o59CaoxHTL0Coaofkah1HD7iOTbEVZxMDVfxNKeWY0gisTlxMV0-duLZh/s6893/MV5BZTNmNDIyOTQtMjkxMy00MzEwLWExODktODZiN2RkNTYzNWQxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzMzOTQ0ODM@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6893" data-original-width="4764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcE7Joap8EWB1EY1J0SvTGy43LspamX1XO8bCx6zHlUT5nghadmybLxSUENBWC9wdR4ZTKNMA_QCwktoA5aexNRYKDY-csFcw2Ee4dhBy9y9VrnGNE5ze0TK05DXgJYvDKo_o59CaoxHTL0Coaofkah1HD7iOTbEVZxMDVfxNKeWY0gisTlxMV0-duLZh/s320/MV5BZTNmNDIyOTQtMjkxMy00MzEwLWExODktODZiN2RkNTYzNWQxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzMzOTQ0ODM@._V1_.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><br />The Monk and the Gun</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Genre: Drama, Comedy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Starring: Tandin Wangchuk, Deki Lhamo, Pemo Zangmo Sherpa, Tandin Sonam, Harry Einhorn</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NF0JChMz8Uc" width="320" youtube-src-id="NF0JChMz8Uc"></iframe></div><br />A true vision of cinema: A movie about a monk...but he's got a gun!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In The Monk and the Gun, a young monk in Bhutan sets out on a search for a gun, a request by his lama. What he needs it for, he didn't say. The monk just knows he needs one. He finds one that happens to be an antique American Civil War rifle, but as he prepares to present it to his lama, an American gun collector attempts to buy it off him. This all plays out during Bhutan's switch to democracy in 2006, even though they seem to have some anachronistic confusion, because advertisements for the movie Quantum of Solace are prominently featured (and even a slight plot point), even though that film didn't come out until late 2008 (Casino Royale was the 2006 James Bond flick). The movie takes a few sharp jabs at democracy, though softly with a friendly smile. It's happy to point out the flaws and vitriol it causes, right down to a pretty on-the-nose scene where a mock election is held, and the people trying to teach democracy to the people tell them to be louder and angrier. The movie seems to not want to comment on whether democracy was a good thing for Bhutan or not, because it's portrayed as a strange idea that seems to be flowing through their contentment in this film. So, it just mocks it, instead. "Elections? Is that a new pig disease?" The movie doesn't formally announce what the theme of all these seemingly random elements are until the end, when we finally learn what the gun is for. It's a slow burn journey, but one that finds a satisfying resolution. It's not really a memorable movie, but a charming one.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNrJe5QlXhIo4LodYlOD9EMviJC2Ky12Tb9MorPmhWpIwV5VF4_to6ZmE2dH_imoihyMBRS_lKIHh6wrroim4UI6LJJQaruBOqxcYyiJP-dzesri2aOe0LI4Dg7c7Zt5A7zmjedY6uLXKeV6f-Ynmoll_OwXY988UZTMNMoT-UmoJUfOBSeseV6Q-znE6/s1481/MV5BY2Y5OWEyYWYtYmJlMy00YjlkLTkyNTMtNzZjY2Q1MzE0YTBlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMxODY3MTE@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="988" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNrJe5QlXhIo4LodYlOD9EMviJC2Ky12Tb9MorPmhWpIwV5VF4_to6ZmE2dH_imoihyMBRS_lKIHh6wrroim4UI6LJJQaruBOqxcYyiJP-dzesri2aOe0LI4Dg7c7Zt5A7zmjedY6uLXKeV6f-Ynmoll_OwXY988UZTMNMoT-UmoJUfOBSeseV6Q-znE6/s320/MV5BY2Y5OWEyYWYtYmJlMy00YjlkLTkyNTMtNzZjY2Q1MzE0YTBlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMxODY3MTE@._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Skeletons in the Closet</b></div><div>⭐</div><div>Streaming On: Shudder</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Asif Akbar</div><div>Starring: Terrence Howard, Valery M. Ortiz, Cuba Gooding Jr.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ocvxevW-VA" width="320" youtube-src-id="-ocvxevW-VA"></iframe></div><br />A family's child is dying of cancer, but also seems to be haunted by a spirit as her parents do whatever it takes to find a way for her to get better. Just going to get this out of the way: This movie sucks. It <i>really </i>sucks. Dear god, does this movie suck. I was initially hopeful, because it's not often you see a movie on Shudder that stars Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. But then again, it wasn't every day you see a movie on Shudder that stars Eva Green, either, and that didn't save Nocebo last year. Nocebo was at least <i>something,</i> though. I can see why Green thought that was a movie worth making. Skeletons in the Closet doesn't even have that going for it. Maybe on paper it seemed like an interesting drama with horror undertones that might have been interesting if done well ("done well" being a generous way of saying "work of stylish brilliance"), but it is also a script that is very easily be boring if you don't know how to enhance it. And what makes this particular movie worse is just how unwilling it is to enhance itself. It leans so heavily into soap-operatics and presents itself like a TV horror movie from the early 2000s that is stuck in a limbo of between something that would be made for Showtime but sold to the Sci-Fi Channel. It devolves into chaos in the end, with flashbacks and an evil scarecrow. This movie is just an unpleasant mess.</div><div><br /></div><div>God, I hated this movie. I spent ninety minutes waiting for it to do something, and in the end, it was just nothing. It might be the worst movie I've ever seen on Shudder.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Oscar's Trash Can</u></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdXp9NlvjRX9xwgOTuxLegFKBBMp-0im0h7sT-2tjHQfZAQNY3etCMvTVrDLdOBzi3tSXWH2ZGpMOEk2jDdrwlp5OT9AScpWjoEGsD1ZbbJVtuNptHJ7PoKEwuJ4T8onS47r8Msncou84YBlMgKapiV5kT0cZSFdBI7a0QDcIt9SOqeo__eqzDlcR6lkSQ/s1251/MV5BMTc1ODM5YjQtMmQzNS00Y2FkLWJhNTgtYTE5ZDY0NjQyNmRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODE5NTY1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdXp9NlvjRX9xwgOTuxLegFKBBMp-0im0h7sT-2tjHQfZAQNY3etCMvTVrDLdOBzi3tSXWH2ZGpMOEk2jDdrwlp5OT9AScpWjoEGsD1ZbbJVtuNptHJ7PoKEwuJ4T8onS47r8Msncou84YBlMgKapiV5kT0cZSFdBI7a0QDcIt9SOqeo__eqzDlcR6lkSQ/s320/MV5BMTc1ODM5YjQtMmQzNS00Y2FkLWJhNTgtYTE5ZDY0NjQyNmRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODE5NTY1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />May December</b></div><div><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best Original Screenplay</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Todd Haynes</div><div>Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8z3JaevxEMA" width="320" youtube-src-id="8z3JaevxEMA"></iframe></div><br />Potential can of worms being opened by this film, which is inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau statutory rape case. Natalie Portman plays an actress who spends a period of time studying for her latest role with Julianne Moore, who was tried and convicted after having an affair with a 13 year old boy and is now happily married to him decades later. The approach of the film is unique, because it could easily be a work of damnation and shock value, but it maintains a tone of neutral observer that a lot of films probably wished they could achieve. It doesn't contest that statutory rape is a bad thing, both legally and morally, but the film has its eye set squarely on the ever after, showcasing people who had committed these sins working to live an ordinary life among those who can, and occasionally cannot, accept them. It's the basic "challenges of reform" thematic premise of Psycho II, only done as a drama. At the same time, it also tells about how the lives around them were affected and how one's sin ripples to those around them. It's a movie that looks at the human being inside of someone who was publicized as a monster, showcasing that a person is more complex than their worst deed and the steady hand trying to maintain one's humanity under intense scrutiny. It also tries to delve into the psyche of those who commit such misdeeds, though it tends to shrug its shoulders and say "Dunno. People do stupid shit." It's bound to polarize, but that doesn't diminish its brilliance.<br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><u>Oscar Nominees</u></div><div>20 Days in Mariupol (N/A)</div><div>The ABCs of Book Banning (N/A)</div><div>The After (N/A)</div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div>American Symphany (N/A)<br /><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>The Barber of Little Rock (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> </b><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>El Conde (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Elemental</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Eternal Memory</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Flamin' Hot</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Four Daughters (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Golda</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Io Capitano (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Invincible (N/A)</div><div>Island in Between (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Knight of Fortune (N/A)</div><div>The Last Repair Shop (N/A)</div><div>Letter to a Pig (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Maestro</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>May December ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Năi Nai & Wài Pó (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Nimona</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Ninty-Five Senses (N/A)</div><div>Nyad (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Our Uniform (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Pachyderme (N/A)</div><div>Perfect Days (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Red, White, and Blue (N/A)</div><div>Robot Dreams (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Rustin</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Society of the Snow</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>The Teachers' Lounge ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>To Kill a Tiger (N/A)</div><div>War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (N/A)</div><div>The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Zone of Interest</a> ⭐⭐⭐</b>1/2</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Argylle</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Beekeeper</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div>Dune ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">The Book of Clarence</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">Cult Killer</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-3.html">I.S.S.</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s_76M4c4LTo" width="320" youtube-src-id="s_76M4c4LTo"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ajw425Kuvtw" width="320" youtube-src-id="ajw425Kuvtw"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-66846745055862452612024-02-05T06:48:00.001-07:002024-02-05T06:53:57.228-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 5 (My Cinema Playground)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KZVpIT02aSfPaNAgu_w2KzeN-t6xmm_psKUYkfkNEdcsj0q2PQfQ1iUIeJfi4fCohx9VqY8Oze-XDrZroWqlYl7Q5iCkXYCOSZIIJP6A34xKD0LBdO2Jrk4lQhyphenhyphenleAqR0184MR8_Cl64ZjQi9ZWzViGpBU-RqtbBG8Y0woZM2CYihqz5NZmE66kgLuoE/s1899/argylle-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1899" data-original-width="1199" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KZVpIT02aSfPaNAgu_w2KzeN-t6xmm_psKUYkfkNEdcsj0q2PQfQ1iUIeJfi4fCohx9VqY8Oze-XDrZroWqlYl7Q5iCkXYCOSZIIJP6A34xKD0LBdO2Jrk4lQhyphenhyphenleAqR0184MR8_Cl64ZjQi9ZWzViGpBU-RqtbBG8Y0woZM2CYihqz5NZmE66kgLuoE/s320/argylle-movie-poster.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><b>Argylle</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Action, Comedy, Spy</div><div>Director: Matthew Vaughn</div><div>Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7mgu9mNZ8Hk" width="320" youtube-src-id="7mgu9mNZ8Hk"></iframe></div><br />Matthew Vaughn plays with spies once again with this new meta spy flick where Bryce Dallas Howard is the author of a spy book series who is swept up in an actual spy ring. It's like The Lost City, but with more stabbing and plot twists. Vaughn is probably the person having the most fun here, because he indulges in these hyperactive action fantasies that he clearly loves so much. It works in spurts. The fantasy Argylle scenes with Henry Cavill are like a loving homage to the campy Roger Moore era James Bond escapism. When things bleed into the real world, it gets trickier, as the movie is indecisive whether it's grounded in reality or going for something even hammier. Vaughn leans more into the latter as the film goes on, for which the film's aloof flamboyance wins light charisma points, but it also feels like he's getting carried away. If one enjoys the Kingsman movies (particularly the second one), Argylle is a pleasant diversion (and also a step up from the King's Man prequel). For many others, it might prove to be too much.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkimLefwDbTNdwGt9Liq21vHUdcYg2kiarecFauubrJ2CnzhTxMuhGQwLX-RXqAxr-1ar_HvZNLRPBAExqLwrPtCX91eelm4Tkcnc8AmLwJQR1ZYQy4YUvE31LaTKO_u2OAwQc9crcKyb49Lxu__gkuSJ6AFLgfvjP71Dp0fJ_1BHagPMOzlEwyxQ1DO4M/s1667/MV5BMzIxOTA0ZDItY2EyOC00ZmUzLThhZWItY2RkNjQ0MGQ0MWI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQzNTY2MDE0._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1667" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkimLefwDbTNdwGt9Liq21vHUdcYg2kiarecFauubrJ2CnzhTxMuhGQwLX-RXqAxr-1ar_HvZNLRPBAExqLwrPtCX91eelm4Tkcnc8AmLwJQR1ZYQy4YUvE31LaTKO_u2OAwQc9crcKyb49Lxu__gkuSJ6AFLgfvjP71Dp0fJ_1BHagPMOzlEwyxQ1DO4M/s320/MV5BMzIxOTA0ZDItY2EyOC00ZmUzLThhZWItY2RkNjQ0MGQ0MWI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQzNTY2MDE0._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><br />Fitting In</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Drama, Comedy</div><div>Director: Molly McGlynn</div><div>Starring: Maddie Ziegler, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Djouliet Amara, Emily Hampshire</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rnm4ggmmm9A" width="320" youtube-src-id="rnm4ggmmm9A"></iframe></div><br />This indie dramedy sees a teenage girl who finds out she was born without a uterus. Afterward she spirals through trying to figure out what this means for herself as she aspires to be a normal, sexually-active teenager. It's an interesting story derived from a glossed over condition, and thrust upon someone who discovers an abnormality about herself and finds peace with it. Writer/director Molly McGlynn (who herself was diagnosed with MRKH syndrome) uses it to tell a story of self-acceptance, and she weaves a lovely tale of identity through it. Sometimes she tends to overplay her hand, going big when something slighter would probably hit harder, but her assurance to anyone watching that there is beauty in being different is something admirable.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtvJiF5C0Y1UP2_PDkpBJDk8_zpn6NeZOJADR3ON9aGlSu2lsX-LjxoDSP_fVWOjt6HZc3D640lvuIY_Y3XH3tUset_qVxvzC96AxFryrWn5EgY1aHuo1In6uoyel2eTl9KJAGg6fjGzNH9zbmM1ygVNgXu6FN_rHczDrAQJcj2MQxwGLGVftxscFxixb/s1500/MV5BNzdlYmU1MWQtODRjOC00YmRlLWFjNzctZGU3Y2FkNDE4NDU2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAxNzQ1NzI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtvJiF5C0Y1UP2_PDkpBJDk8_zpn6NeZOJADR3ON9aGlSu2lsX-LjxoDSP_fVWOjt6HZc3D640lvuIY_Y3XH3tUset_qVxvzC96AxFryrWn5EgY1aHuo1In6uoyel2eTl9KJAGg6fjGzNH9zbmM1ygVNgXu6FN_rHczDrAQJcj2MQxwGLGVftxscFxixb/s320/MV5BNzdlYmU1MWQtODRjOC00YmRlLWFjNzctZGU3Y2FkNDE4NDU2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAxNzQ1NzI@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Scrambled</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Drama</div><div>Director: Leah McKendrick</div><div>Starring: Leah McKendrick, Ego Nwodim, Andrew Santino, Adam Rodreguez, Laura Cerón, Clancy Brown</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SZ3T3Yr6B54" width="320" youtube-src-id="SZ3T3Yr6B54"></iframe></div><br />This weekend has been jackpot for indie movies about women's vaginas, so if that's your niche, get ready for a double feature. Those who take the plunge will also want to check out this flick written, directed, and starring Leah McKendrick as a woman who decides to freeze her eggs after a breakup, just in case she meets Mr. Right late in life. It's a simple premise that could potentially be squeezed dry early if McKendrick didn't find a through-line for it, but she chooses to work it as a story of regret and the promise that hope can still bloom out of it even when you feel like you missed your best chance. She's engaging and funny throughout the film, and her colorful interactions with her friends, family, and lovers blossom the theme around a small story about ovulation. While it doesn't do anything of a seismic scale, the movie's glowing beacon of sisterhood assurance is something that will be appreciated by its targeted audience.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-19NfhZmCrr4LDHl8H3LB78jSpaFG-KFCe95eogouyi-6ozUIdchwBUA4fcRAWXwZ4dhyphenhyphenKU9iSC0QRXYE5QHF8jmbl-012I7NhLK3dJl30plymoKyPM0DOZhOXz5oWJj95S3OUNchxbAY4lDvV2Vd8MLIPDzQzjpG_jT70d3AI886SXHtCVUyyi5Okm6/s2250/MV5BYzRmOGQwZjktYjM2Ni00M2NmLWFlZDYtZGFhM2RkM2VhZDI1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-19NfhZmCrr4LDHl8H3LB78jSpaFG-KFCe95eogouyi-6ozUIdchwBUA4fcRAWXwZ4dhyphenhyphenKU9iSC0QRXYE5QHF8jmbl-012I7NhLK3dJl30plymoKyPM0DOZhOXz5oWJj95S3OUNchxbAY4lDvV2Vd8MLIPDzQzjpG_jT70d3AI886SXHtCVUyyi5Okm6/s320/MV5BYzRmOGQwZjktYjM2Ni00M2NmLWFlZDYtZGFhM2RkM2VhZDI1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><b>The Zone of Interest</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best Picture, Best Director - Jonathan Glazer, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, Best Sound</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Jonathan Glazer</div><div>Starring: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-vfg3KkV54" width="320" youtube-src-id="r-vfg3KkV54"></iframe></div><br />It's so easy to just make a movie where Indiana Jones punches Nazis. It's much harder to make a movie where Nazis are humanized. In our culture, we're so used to seeing Nazis as the evil-doers, who do the bad deeds because what they stood for and are as close to true evil as we've ever seen grace this earth. Finding humanity in people who specialized in the inhumane is a tough task, because any storyteller would have to be at war with their own empathy. Normally, the fallback on any sort of movie that has Nazis portrayed as the main characters would have the plot center around a crisis of conscience, like one might have seen with Schindler's List. The Zone of Interest chooses not to do that. The film is a slice-of-life drama centering on characters who casually commit genocide. The movie isn't about what they do, but the mundane way in which they go about it. As demonized as this group is, the reality is that they were people. They had friends, family, children, and responsibilities, and with the evil they did, there were spoils to be shared and revelled in. The film centers on the family of a high-ranking Nazis who live next to a consecration camp, as they go about their daily life, often with the sounds of horror coming over the walls. The imagery of how they casually ignore it is somehow as harrowing as even the most graphic of Holocaust depictions you'll ever see, because watching this group of people who seem normal while all lacking that basic sense of compassion is very much disturbing. It's also compounded by the way they discuss their business openly in front of their enslaved Jewish help, and underlined by their casual cruelty to them. The filmmaking of the film is interesting, with cinematography that mimics a "fly on a wall" just glimpsing their everyday function. I admit some of the more bombastic artistic choices probably dragged the movie down a bit for me, but it's one of the most fascinating films about the Holocaust ever made.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Oscar's Trash Can</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kjx5CBFJJwWQSFMN-pFwiN5bSvZpWC8uTR2uh6cuub81ikrO8nhLRSJdf5F7zz83VlPSdB9aVUCrU_zGd9hcHAKKg_Axxtm3ZcYUiygzjdy8D97QPEqb-No1JFKXfsV5Q5hrNFpIATX6qosg50DQakBfMWzJQ2YHu91s2CDEHH4W4pvAi1gpelf6cpW3/s1985/MV5BZmEwYTVhNzEtMDBhMC00NTg3LTkwYTctZjg2Nzk4YmUzOWMxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI4NjE0MTU2._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1985" data-original-width="1344" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kjx5CBFJJwWQSFMN-pFwiN5bSvZpWC8uTR2uh6cuub81ikrO8nhLRSJdf5F7zz83VlPSdB9aVUCrU_zGd9hcHAKKg_Axxtm3ZcYUiygzjdy8D97QPEqb-No1JFKXfsV5Q5hrNFpIATX6qosg50DQakBfMWzJQ2YHu91s2CDEHH4W4pvAi1gpelf6cpW3/s320/MV5BZmEwYTVhNzEtMDBhMC00NTg3LTkwYTctZjg2Nzk4YmUzOWMxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI4NjE0MTU2._V1_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><b>The Eternal Memory</b></div><div><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best Documentary</div><div>Genre: Documentary</div><div>Director: Maite Alberdi</div><div>Starring: Augusto Góngora, Paulina Urritia</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-hxO7_oEZw" width="320" youtube-src-id="v-hxO7_oEZw"></iframe></div><br />Chilean journalist Augusto Góngora was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2014, and this film documents his relationship with his wife, actress Paulina Urritia, during his declining years. There isn't a huge narrative string driving The Eternal Memory, as we see Góngora's condition shift over the course of it. What we also see is his anchor, his beloved wife, who is constantly holding his hand and guiding him through his worst days. Films like this can weigh heavily on the trying drama of the illness, though The Eternal Memory instead focuses on the love between two people, one who is very ill and the other showing how much she cares by just being there for him. While his condition does worsen over the course of the film, the film doesn't dwell on it, because his condition isn't the point. The tenderness in which he is loved during the inevitable, and the love he gives back, carries the weight of the movie. Góngora passed away last year, after the movie debuted. Because of that, the film never acknowledges his death, which is just as well. The movie instead leaves us with the image of him, looking past his confusion, and telling his wife how beautiful she is and how he wishes to spend the rest of his life with her. From everything shown in the movie, it's easy to see why and understand that he did.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglr5jsxy94oZ89tGaX3gC5zQfgTZTURbbLJmmU3_RJ2Xbsb8HMYQ86QLk2u_0ULgkz9FRsr3Gl5vJRwBuUdkkZJ15W6lE7T0vt26VqH3DmU23ypC8IaGb0Gvd_rGQH4cTNAFrcQLQCXSBjVxT1ienrMsRsvGwd9xms3qRciMDi1aGymGa8IVi0yubUuujZ/s1481/MV5BZDc2MDIzYzAtOWUzZS00ZjJmLWE4ZGMtMWZlNDc2OTQ5NzFjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglr5jsxy94oZ89tGaX3gC5zQfgTZTURbbLJmmU3_RJ2Xbsb8HMYQ86QLk2u_0ULgkz9FRsr3Gl5vJRwBuUdkkZJ15W6lE7T0vt26VqH3DmU23ypC8IaGb0Gvd_rGQH4cTNAFrcQLQCXSBjVxT1ienrMsRsvGwd9xms3qRciMDi1aGymGa8IVi0yubUuujZ/s320/MV5BZDc2MDIzYzAtOWUzZS00ZjJmLWE4ZGMtMWZlNDc2OTQ5NzFjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Rustin</b></div><div><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best Actor - Colman Domingo</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: George C. Wolfe</div><div>Starring: Colman Domingo, Aml Ameen, Chris Rock, Jeffery Wright, Audra McDonald</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EuZ-UONInl4" width="320" youtube-src-id="EuZ-UONInl4"></iframe></div><br />This year's Oscar race has been good to a handful of underrated African American performers, primarily two that I've appreciated for quite some time who both got nominated for Best Actor: Jeffrey Wright and Colman Domingo. My hopes are that Wright will take home the trophy for his excellent performance in American Fiction (though he also has a small role in this film), but I'll be perfectly happy if Domingo sneaks it out from under him (or the Academy can just be boring and give it to Cillian Murphy). Domingo plays civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, as it primarily chronicles the events of him organizing the 1963 March on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr. There has been a fair share of films made about the civil rights movements of the period, and a lot of them are very good. They tend to fall back on similar tones and styles, though. Rustin has several benefits in its favor, including focusing on a member who was more behind the scenes than most. It's also more rhythmicly pleasing than a lot of historical dramas, telling its story with a very jazzy flow that pairs with Rustin's rhetoric. It's not a stirring watch, like many films of its type, but it has this interesting double underline of the civil rights ideology of acceptance in that it's primarily about Rustin's trials of being accepted within his own movement, as he was also a gay man, as well. The quest to be acknowledged for your contributions in the face of dismissal fuels a lot of this film's fire, and it's a excellent showcase for Domingo's talent.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETH7J3gTdvoWqIIY4QUWP40xOC0QOw8di_Pi1D43FlDaeGsQje418nJvB8wYK6UBG8QyUgsvxdu2_b3ODomC36exNtejcJsfP-arVgtby8Q6niykzdqF9fZPB-iyqQ27ZpnNsMU3D0HyfMuHoTZo7-9Dj-j3abSaABo-tQ5HzuERlr8BYLg4pGxMNn9Fo/s2222/MV5BYWQ0Y2MxODgtOWI0ZC00MWIwLWIyYzEtN2FhNWQ1MGQ3MDBhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2222" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETH7J3gTdvoWqIIY4QUWP40xOC0QOw8di_Pi1D43FlDaeGsQje418nJvB8wYK6UBG8QyUgsvxdu2_b3ODomC36exNtejcJsfP-arVgtby8Q6niykzdqF9fZPB-iyqQ27ZpnNsMU3D0HyfMuHoTZo7-9Dj-j3abSaABo-tQ5HzuERlr8BYLg4pGxMNn9Fo/s320/MV5BYWQ0Y2MxODgtOWI0ZC00MWIwLWIyYzEtN2FhNWQ1MGQ3MDBhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Society of the Snow</b></div><div><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best International Feature Film, Best Make-Up and Hairstyling</div><div>Genre: Drama, Thriller</div><div>Director: J.A. Bayona</div><div>Starring: Enzo Vogrincic, Matias Recalt, Agustin Pardella, Tomas Wolf</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pDak4qLyF4Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="pDak4qLyF4Q"></iframe></div><br />Yet another film based upon the 1972 plane crash in the Andes, which also includes Survive! (from The Batwoman and Santa Claus director Rene Cardona Jr) and Alive (from Frank Marshall), Society of the Snow tells of the people who survived the incident and what they had to do to get out alive (which, yes, included cannibalism). I haven't delved into the other films based on this story, but there seems to be the consensus that Society of the Snow was the best one, and I can believe it. Director J.A. Bayona uses his personal style to craft a film that is every bit as biting and as harrowing as the story would lead one to believe, making the film a tough watch for the feint of heart. It doesn't pull punches and holds nothing back, with a brutal honesty of the tramatic experience of this tale. It's a harsh movie about harsh conditions, and the will to survive when the entire world has collapsed on top of you. It's hard to picture anybody watching this movie more than once, but it's also hard to picture anybody bothering with the other dramatizations when one this good exists.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><u>Oscar Nominees</u></div><div>20 Days in Mariupol (N/A)</div><div>The ABCs of Book Banning (N/A)</div><div>The After (N/A)</div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div>American Symphany (N/A)<br /><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>The Barber of Little Rock (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> </b><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>El Conde (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Elemental</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>The Eternal Memory ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Flamin' Hot</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Four Daughters (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Golda</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Io Capitano (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Invincible (N/A)</div><div>Island in Between (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Knight of Fortune (N/A)</div><div>The Last Repair Shop (N/A)</div><div>Letter to a Pig (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Maestro</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>May December (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Năi Nai & Wài Pó (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Nimona</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Ninty-Five Senses (N/A)</div><div>Nyad (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Our Uniform (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Pachyderme (N/A)</div><div>Perfect Days (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Red, White, and Blue (N/A)</div><div>Robot Dreams (N/A)</div><div>Rustin ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Society of the Snow ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>The Teachers' Lounge (N/A)</div><div>To Kill a Tiger (N/A)</div><div>War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (N/A)</div><div>The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (N/A)</div><div><b>The Zone of Interest ⭐⭐⭐</b>1/2</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Beekeeper</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">I.S.S.</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Mean Girls</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Morgan's Girl</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Beekeeper</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Silent Night</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bvI3F95w8ns" width="320" youtube-src-id="bvI3F95w8ns"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-1294801776646266282024-01-29T06:35:00.001-07:002024-02-01T08:03:56.782-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 4 (My Cinema Playground)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCOqEEx_ehbHhL16sVXvQ2jFkPgzpVrulmB8NZeJvY6xSJujoWPueQV4ubfUzOV0oJ1TAc95cbWtYaIpoqriUz1itcEpwWuvSChJVVxlhuzYoarpgLlGyHJ2L7anMcV0t9ZE3ImKGc6RDvErG1ubQVgH_gyIpoHsrRjPt6zebLQPgCdsAfpLdYVLIg_7C/s1350/4650676.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCOqEEx_ehbHhL16sVXvQ2jFkPgzpVrulmB8NZeJvY6xSJujoWPueQV4ubfUzOV0oJ1TAc95cbWtYaIpoqriUz1itcEpwWuvSChJVVxlhuzYoarpgLlGyHJ2L7anMcV0t9ZE3ImKGc6RDvErG1ubQVgH_gyIpoHsrRjPt6zebLQPgCdsAfpLdYVLIg_7C/s320/4650676.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><b>Godzilla Minus One (Minus Color)</b></div><div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Oscars Nominated: Best Visual Effects</div><div>Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction, Disaster</div><div>Director: Takashi Yamazaki</div><div>Starring: Ryunosuki Kamaki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g4nR1BI_33Y" width="320" youtube-src-id="g4nR1BI_33Y"></iframe></div><br /><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCaX65I85_uLM0Nkamof-z6ffFakIpHw8Qr-O1P9BO7Q9mqXYtIi01TfznDEK5SZwGQVd7ByTAgKv64Vxh6UI8At08KnMfYy1b_7ZuXbnnqpaJSn-Tsvjo-bdjaHivCIpwoNA3Nu6J24Fn6fcsUWknjMzrVdLcwBzACAwv0hGJ-0BWfipSM4Gx9GfBUTZ/s3000/MV5BM2JiYTQzM2MtOWU4NS00MGMwLTg2NTYtMTNhMzk5Y2JlY2Q4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCaX65I85_uLM0Nkamof-z6ffFakIpHw8Qr-O1P9BO7Q9mqXYtIi01TfznDEK5SZwGQVd7ByTAgKv64Vxh6UI8At08KnMfYy1b_7ZuXbnnqpaJSn-Tsvjo-bdjaHivCIpwoNA3Nu6J24Fn6fcsUWknjMzrVdLcwBzACAwv0hGJ-0BWfipSM4Gx9GfBUTZ/s320/MV5BM2JiYTQzM2MtOWU4NS00MGMwLTg2NTYtMTNhMzk5Y2JlY2Q4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Miller's Girl</b></div><div>⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama, Thriller</div><div>Director: Jade Halley Bartlett</div><div>Starring: Martin Freeman, Jenna Ortega, Dagmara Dominczyk, Bashir Salahuddin, Gideon Adlon</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vk2OJZHutBM" width="320" youtube-src-id="vk2OJZHutBM"></iframe></div><br />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.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowqYC6dRtZRsNM8L0BiQLqM0TVQroWxyV79NhOUQ_quJh8RHSzer3DnsRTRMPpjNpLtNRw8clbF3JqLM1-bb5CVDSI6xCCIvFcT95JJrYStPdEDOYnyPRjPOtU7_DeVBjWfZGIOhyphenhyphensD6v7hStdOMIMDl2SQqj1n8Jmy99ePbmNEqdY2PbGjOCuVsjduPC/s1500/MV5BNGU1M2NhNzctMmUyZS00MGRhLWEzOGEtYzQ3Y2UxZGU1Y2ZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1013" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowqYC6dRtZRsNM8L0BiQLqM0TVQroWxyV79NhOUQ_quJh8RHSzer3DnsRTRMPpjNpLtNRw8clbF3JqLM1-bb5CVDSI6xCCIvFcT95JJrYStPdEDOYnyPRjPOtU7_DeVBjWfZGIOhyphenhyphensD6v7hStdOMIMDl2SQqj1n8Jmy99ePbmNEqdY2PbGjOCuVsjduPC/s320/MV5BNGU1M2NhNzctMmUyZS00MGRhLWEzOGEtYzQ3Y2UxZGU1Y2ZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Suitable Flesh</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Streaming On: Shudder</div><div>Genre: Thriller</div><div>Director: Joe Lynch</div><div>Starring: Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Bruce Davison, Barbara Crampton, Jonathon Schaech</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GwRiVXV0ZdI" width="320" youtube-src-id="GwRiVXV0ZdI"></iframe></div><br /><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Oscar Nominees</u></div><div>20 Days in Mariupol (N/A)</div><div>The ABCs of Book Banning (N/A)</div><div>The After (N/A)</div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b><div>American Symphany (N/A)<br /><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>The Barber of Little Rock (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> </b><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> <b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>El Conde (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Elemental</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>The Eternal Memory (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Flamin' Hot</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Four Daughters (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Golda</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Io Capitano (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Invincible (N/A)</div><div>Island in Between (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Knight of Fortune (N/A)</div><div>The Last Repair Shop (N/A)</div><div>Letter to a Pig (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Maestro</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>May December (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Năi Nai & Wài Pó (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Nimona</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Ninty-Five Senses (N/A)</div><div>Nyad (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Our Uniform (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Pachyderme (N/A)</div><div>Perfect Days (N/A)</div><div><b><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Red, White, and Blue (N/A)</div><div>Robot Dreams (N/A)</div><div>Rustin (N/A)</div><div>Society of the Snow (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>The Teachers' Lounge (N/A)</div><div>To Kill a Tiger (N/A)</div><div>War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (N/A)</div><div>The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (N/A)</div><div><b>The Zone of Interest </b>(N/A)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a><b> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a><b> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Beekeeper</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">The Book of Clerence</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Frued's Last Session</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One (Minus Color)</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">I.S.S.</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-4.html">Mean Girls</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-1.html">Night Swim</a> ⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Past Lives</a><b> </b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">Ferarri</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-1.html">Night Swim</a> ⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7mgu9mNZ8Hk" width="320" youtube-src-id="7mgu9mNZ8Hk"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-65081567720723927772024-01-21T15:46:00.002-07:002024-01-21T15:46:31.632-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 3 (My Cinema Playground)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X7fROCPXJGNdmNVBzUkUyWlOKnTTvpByc8kdUlgOOuLrdOjQqePMFAP0qET1hyphenhyphen-1372LXFEJ3YmQRDo-04QhKli1JsiErCLWHtfI6Oo_WEC8GWaZBSfAst8sxji6wSrLGtdc-Ia7_UJW7xmrYqIwh5F9LBrppxu_RnL057rjWhS6BTAd74jif1Ad5eLd/s2560/MV5BYjZmODc5YmQtNjA2Mi00OTIwLWI5OWMtMzgwNGI2NDczNWZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9X7fROCPXJGNdmNVBzUkUyWlOKnTTvpByc8kdUlgOOuLrdOjQqePMFAP0qET1hyphenhyphen-1372LXFEJ3YmQRDo-04QhKli1JsiErCLWHtfI6Oo_WEC8GWaZBSfAst8sxji6wSrLGtdc-Ia7_UJW7xmrYqIwh5F9LBrppxu_RnL057rjWhS6BTAd74jif1Ad5eLd/s320/MV5BYjZmODc5YmQtNjA2Mi00OTIwLWI5OWMtMzgwNGI2NDczNWZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><b>The Beekeeper</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Action</div><div>Director: David Ayer</div><div>Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, Jemma Redgrave, Bobby Naderi, Philicia Rashad, Minnie Driver</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dE0KFHYiQ4s" width="320" youtube-src-id="dE0KFHYiQ4s"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-z1ux7ECUr6MXbWRhCYQxqQvUaxPpScJ4uDHMM7ffLXqImidexZKxsZQd_6RkwuMiRAeCa5waqzH40QQFQIB6kgdcYFnRr_xSJ0F_u_JGLVNOUo0oIwSV7cv1DUokwLObCZWdnMERbNEbWRLOTqemORQv-zXUR5DEpNMu3rgIRKgYD3tmsermJ-PhRDS/s1500/MV5BMzk2NTI2NmYtNDBkOC00MzJiLTg1MDgtMTgyNjAwNDg5YjgwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODE5NzE3OTE@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1013" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-z1ux7ECUr6MXbWRhCYQxqQvUaxPpScJ4uDHMM7ffLXqImidexZKxsZQd_6RkwuMiRAeCa5waqzH40QQFQIB6kgdcYFnRr_xSJ0F_u_JGLVNOUo0oIwSV7cv1DUokwLObCZWdnMERbNEbWRLOTqemORQv-zXUR5DEpNMu3rgIRKgYD3tmsermJ-PhRDS/s320/MV5BMzk2NTI2NmYtNDBkOC00MzJiLTg1MDgtMTgyNjAwNDg5YjgwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODE5NzE3OTE@._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Book of Clarence</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Comedy</div><div>Director: Jeymes Samuel</div><div>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</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ntNS-ANoMyM" width="320" youtube-src-id="ntNS-ANoMyM"></iframe></div><br />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).</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qam0o_MpkelCwBZ5tsrkJ4hTL7YpYps-ljIfiJwlOD5uAQuMcwQBhApqBus3h-h6eRlK1CPzHoBSWJAi6Ajy_aSt104oJzIUu-1EOIWczEAzJDyBRUoc-vxAFuCZ_c9YXna2oBuPSUo2DLz0nWKEJNnx0VAIIPtfCv9SGSlzqmkT_X8vwo0hTBUrgdE_/s1500/MV5BYzQ4MDQ2MzYtMmM0NS00ZjdkLTk2NTYtNTkxOTI3M2YyYjA5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qam0o_MpkelCwBZ5tsrkJ4hTL7YpYps-ljIfiJwlOD5uAQuMcwQBhApqBus3h-h6eRlK1CPzHoBSWJAi6Ajy_aSt104oJzIUu-1EOIWczEAzJDyBRUoc-vxAFuCZ_c9YXna2oBuPSUo2DLz0nWKEJNnx0VAIIPtfCv9SGSlzqmkT_X8vwo0hTBUrgdE_/s320/MV5BYzQ4MDQ2MzYtMmM0NS00ZjdkLTk2NTYtNTkxOTI3M2YyYjA5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><b><br />Cult Killer</b></div><div>⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Thriller</div><div>Director: Jon Keeyes</div><div>Starring: Alice Eve, Antonio Banderas, Paul Reid, Shelley Hennig</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/648LOIKLJ5A" width="320" youtube-src-id="648LOIKLJ5A"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFC12GGKGg5e7DNy-ilBf-jToZ9lC4UUQJ9dXc13gBGPf5tV2UMASuRihyphenhyphenPM2abGhnRBb7dYb6rO-L8_cZySxjflo-h-CDuAJpC1InGl_5pa2OHVHae3Silfdtj5zudexqkn2UNDF9fuHrsbihjG2o5mMoc9__emTd8uGSnSMG3pglHDSzAI53pm4ENf3/s2955/MV5BZDllZWE0YzAtZDhkYS00ZThhLWE3OTAtZGNmYjc1YmFmMDQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY3ODc2MTg@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2955" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFC12GGKGg5e7DNy-ilBf-jToZ9lC4UUQJ9dXc13gBGPf5tV2UMASuRihyphenhyphenPM2abGhnRBb7dYb6rO-L8_cZySxjflo-h-CDuAJpC1InGl_5pa2OHVHae3Silfdtj5zudexqkn2UNDF9fuHrsbihjG2o5mMoc9__emTd8uGSnSMG3pglHDSzAI53pm4ENf3/s320/MV5BZDllZWE0YzAtZDhkYS00ZThhLWE3OTAtZGNmYjc1YmFmMDQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY3ODc2MTg@._V1_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><b>Founders Day</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Erik Bloomquist</div><div>Starring: Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Emilia McCarthy, Olivia Nikkanen, Catherine Curtin</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tCYsY7Ats70" width="320" youtube-src-id="tCYsY7Ats70"></iframe></div><br />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.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIjOBp4a_BAGubja6g46OvKWCXMs93XCLDnSclsYDmeZ4ZLsxIdVj5rpdlQUOyeqK06SDj1MIy4RmB60p6JGP9HOVUkhEp57mIHXCn553VWlVGBCW9CXLx-puXCdWTn5Kqj_qFlW8kmZfnEFeVGBiSRss6yGRncLYOll204rJJM1ChqY5BepVboPa7n1T/s2866/MV5BMGRmODdlZmYtMWFiNC00N2E1LTg5MjUtMWJmMjgyYzJlZjk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyODg5MjQw._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2866" data-original-width="1934" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIjOBp4a_BAGubja6g46OvKWCXMs93XCLDnSclsYDmeZ4ZLsxIdVj5rpdlQUOyeqK06SDj1MIy4RmB60p6JGP9HOVUkhEp57mIHXCn553VWlVGBCW9CXLx-puXCdWTn5Kqj_qFlW8kmZfnEFeVGBiSRss6yGRncLYOll204rJJM1ChqY5BepVboPa7n1T/s320/MV5BMGRmODdlZmYtMWFiNC00N2E1LTg5MjUtMWJmMjgyYzJlZjk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyODg5MjQw._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Freud's Last Session</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Matt Brown</div><div>Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode, Liv Lisa Fries</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hPJM9lEMyV4" width="320" youtube-src-id="hPJM9lEMyV4"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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 <i>did,</i> mind you, just that he <i>might </i>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.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErdmc-Fl7qiGIPONBZHomMLQlE8gQPj-dSZLcULHRe6xgpsj0KojEjcpfstOXdmdMd1h3xhs_qJ5ceRhlT0IcEZhm-agY2KOXzn6f8qrJFFqC1HHXqGJSWbqHYw_OyIaQdxKJgzw_XPQD96fD1JRAVY5msxoe_naFrSVI1TARotQwftYPK2-yeFBGapEH/s3150/MV5BMWVlYTVmYjUtZDM0NC00YzI5LTg2ZDktN2E2YTQ5OTdlMTU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3150" data-original-width="2175" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErdmc-Fl7qiGIPONBZHomMLQlE8gQPj-dSZLcULHRe6xgpsj0KojEjcpfstOXdmdMd1h3xhs_qJ5ceRhlT0IcEZhm-agY2KOXzn6f8qrJFFqC1HHXqGJSWbqHYw_OyIaQdxKJgzw_XPQD96fD1JRAVY5msxoe_naFrSVI1TARotQwftYPK2-yeFBGapEH/s320/MV5BMWVlYTVmYjUtZDM0NC00YzI5LTg2ZDktN2E2YTQ5OTdlMTU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><br />I.S.S.</div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller</div><div>Director: Gabriela Copperwaite</div><div>Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Maria Mashkova, Costa Ronin, Pilou Asb<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">æk</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BywoLxuBgT0" width="320" youtube-src-id="BywoLxuBgT0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrOOInPyqR8c9b1EnfR8HTr4ddUjXT3_xcVR06_wxbJbWjiJ8lqqZDlQtmuMYKoC1vAyhcbYTg0fCdH4rYgPoK6H51aPHN-SAYi2wzRC45BOsCglZVXcVVJqXPrcwCfcJ6HMQU6S5sLuaSR6x-iA0VKbWjMdYrOkiWwdRRqs4lfgtWnaeF4DOv5EQ5EdF/s1500/MV5BNDExMGMyN2QtYjRkZC00Yzk1LTkzMDktMTliZTI5NjQ0NTNkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEyMjM2NDc2._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1093" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrOOInPyqR8c9b1EnfR8HTr4ddUjXT3_xcVR06_wxbJbWjiJ8lqqZDlQtmuMYKoC1vAyhcbYTg0fCdH4rYgPoK6H51aPHN-SAYi2wzRC45BOsCglZVXcVVJqXPrcwCfcJ6HMQU6S5sLuaSR6x-iA0VKbWjMdYrOkiWwdRRqs4lfgtWnaeF4DOv5EQ5EdF/s320/MV5BNDExMGMyN2QtYjRkZC00Yzk1LTkzMDktMTliZTI5NjQ0NTNkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEyMjM2NDc2._V1_.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br /><b>Mean Girls</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Musical</div><div>Director: Arturo Perez Jr., Samantha Jayne</div><div>Starring: Angourie Rice, Renee Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Christopher Briney, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Jenna Fischer, Busy Phillips, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fFtdbEgnUOk" width="320" youtube-src-id="fFtdbEgnUOk"></iframe></div><br />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 <i>as</i> fetch.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgzxQD3RKhW07jJ0tDE2y-GcVMmiPTnV8ylrNwmxyhBWxTJSE25RV1epIOFBwcFn92tTDx3j-WgAHeJVD7iASQGXi8xZYN1H4wNB0U8d-Zqz0KDDRyGHnO7W1SSYp9Xe6QFv7DJMC8m7Iz8jnr-Ra_jGDvB8BAJfzanZ3HlSOoZxGbDcmsR4wtCP2HTBr/s500/59433c579843718575daaa6e72374ae7.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgzxQD3RKhW07jJ0tDE2y-GcVMmiPTnV8ylrNwmxyhBWxTJSE25RV1epIOFBwcFn92tTDx3j-WgAHeJVD7iASQGXi8xZYN1H4wNB0U8d-Zqz0KDDRyGHnO7W1SSYp9Xe6QFv7DJMC8m7Iz8jnr-Ra_jGDvB8BAJfzanZ3HlSOoZxGbDcmsR4wtCP2HTBr/s320/59433c579843718575daaa6e72374ae7.gif" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9ouVyAwy4Z2TbyOO_RXfioN_Rj0Dy-WBqnn2tUEqJAd8-6Iwiv2uEfvmmT40ts_tny_FBOVTrYmh_aWBTLEzvRQOz-13xZEXFcYFS_1soN6R3EUlA628OI9vaywtMKHQFDt_MTRGAfoHBhpSFbu2FqW6H6AW9ZDkodx0CKOnu0ORqKV1qF7eGbA-s-h9/s480/giphy%20(1).gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9ouVyAwy4Z2TbyOO_RXfioN_Rj0Dy-WBqnn2tUEqJAd8-6Iwiv2uEfvmmT40ts_tny_FBOVTrYmh_aWBTLEzvRQOz-13xZEXFcYFS_1soN6R3EUlA628OI9vaywtMKHQFDt_MTRGAfoHBhpSFbu2FqW6H6AW9ZDkodx0CKOnu0ORqKV1qF7eGbA-s-h9/s320/giphy%20(1).gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Yes, I have a type, shut up)</div><div><br /></div>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.<div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61yzlJnLRcKqbagrHt04EcMgSLLzp7p27kJeFNhfUfWaN6FWjOT9pOvdTPerDEp6N33Z1XHaYcdu2w3gKIjPnIJmlm-yEQyxH6DLeiJpE9EFjtINqYWBm9k8L6b4sMcPwZQpnoEy3_PAK9c5t67MY3VoX_qLsAF9yv3JfG6DeMQCkxaOuWomu-ZzYjfCO/s2837/MV5BZmYzMjMzN2EtMGYwNi00ODc3LWI3YTctMjA5YjI1MGFkYTlhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2837" data-original-width="1892" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61yzlJnLRcKqbagrHt04EcMgSLLzp7p27kJeFNhfUfWaN6FWjOT9pOvdTPerDEp6N33Z1XHaYcdu2w3gKIjPnIJmlm-yEQyxH6DLeiJpE9EFjtINqYWBm9k8L6b4sMcPwZQpnoEy3_PAK9c5t67MY3VoX_qLsAF9yv3JfG6DeMQCkxaOuWomu-ZzYjfCO/s320/MV5BZmYzMjMzN2EtMGYwNi00ODc3LWI3YTctMjA5YjI1MGFkYTlhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><b>All of Us Strangers</b></div><div>⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama, Fantasy</div><div>Director: Andrew Haigh</div><div>Starring: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Clair Foy</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O97iSjvqBlY" width="320" youtube-src-id="O97iSjvqBlY"></iframe></div><br /><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-2.html">American Fiction</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div>The Beekeeper ⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Book of Clerence ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">The Iron Claw</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Mean Girls ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-1.html">Night Swim</a> ⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Soul ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Marvels</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Next Goal Wins</a> ⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">Journey to Bethlehem</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g4nR1BI_33Y" width="320" youtube-src-id="g4nR1BI_33Y"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-24800024041734402042024-01-14T16:01:00.001-07:002024-01-14T16:15:13.982-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 2 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxE6I1qN8b3Rps5m81QXoBaAyzUWsGLhAf58VgLFm_UsFDqD8q_sJdE6FeMfXyoI4xzBr7d_LYHhOu6YSAQZE4fkfQ4iJMPQbvu9hSprY-NMVGrtWgzTjao4ESgLE7wKgBGZB2q-6dWyIeI3hOtkj3FDQFJsrGFAyzRHdtskm6psKhydl2M_acWtLlzw08/s4096/MV5BM2FiN2RiOWItOGEwMS00ZGYxLWJkMDUtM2Q4YjU4ZmI0YjBhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMzNDE5NDM2._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="2765" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxE6I1qN8b3Rps5m81QXoBaAyzUWsGLhAf58VgLFm_UsFDqD8q_sJdE6FeMfXyoI4xzBr7d_LYHhOu6YSAQZE4fkfQ4iJMPQbvu9hSprY-NMVGrtWgzTjao4ESgLE7wKgBGZB2q-6dWyIeI3hOtkj3FDQFJsrGFAyzRHdtskm6psKhydl2M_acWtLlzw08/s320/MV5BM2FiN2RiOWItOGEwMS00ZGYxLWJkMDUtM2Q4YjU4ZmI0YjBhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMzNDE5NDM2._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />American Fiction</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Comedy, Drama</div><div style="text-align: left;">Director: Cord Jefferson</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i0MbLCpYJPA" width="320" youtube-src-id="i0MbLCpYJPA"></iframe></div><br />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.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZkmMRh9aLtMGJSbqkqwXF2JZ-9DOJGIDsMCvIFC-zm40rg2DTnzMlLg1ikeYqK5tlCcv1biKoJVutTzrOoLOFDxwEo4_J5dL13F8CBZEJ-GCda-ob9mX9VGWC-7HdKXySClfVXLlqGHTdWiS9zFIqE5TIyiIzkagTeQtOvHk99Keq7ArEinCKsI1uzHY/s900/37ef3c121b6f2335_boxart.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZkmMRh9aLtMGJSbqkqwXF2JZ-9DOJGIDsMCvIFC-zm40rg2DTnzMlLg1ikeYqK5tlCcv1biKoJVutTzrOoLOFDxwEo4_J5dL13F8CBZEJ-GCda-ob9mX9VGWC-7HdKXySClfVXLlqGHTdWiS9zFIqE5TIyiIzkagTeQtOvHk99Keq7ArEinCKsI1uzHY/s320/37ef3c121b6f2335_boxart.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Destroy All Neighbors</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐️⭐️</div><div style="text-align: left;">Streaming On: Shudder</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Comedy, Horror</div><div style="text-align: left;">Director: Josh Forbes</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: Jonah Ray Rodrigues, Alex Winter, Kiran Deol</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/puY9AthRUCQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="puY9AthRUCQ"></iframe></div><br />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."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSngiQY3DMAWQ_E8DrOKWS9hwTEHUBDK9kpJCZe2ciVo8BkvNep6AjFZcaECbfieSCzsDXQqK3CUnCT9dvwIgFnkRXOQfNuYqQMVCu__tVZs882OKjcMidSblgtSs3nSDu4tvGCqFpTTya1EeEhawhg3wwfcFShR1H25Q334nzj25uOgC-uyCPg8iHrPs/s2880/MV5BZWM3YjdhZjQtNWEwMS00YjVhLWFmMDUtMzU0ZTI0OTdkNWExXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2880" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSngiQY3DMAWQ_E8DrOKWS9hwTEHUBDK9kpJCZe2ciVo8BkvNep6AjFZcaECbfieSCzsDXQqK3CUnCT9dvwIgFnkRXOQfNuYqQMVCu__tVZs882OKjcMidSblgtSs3nSDu4tvGCqFpTTya1EeEhawhg3wwfcFShR1H25Q334nzj25uOgC-uyCPg8iHrPs/s320/MV5BZWM3YjdhZjQtNWEwMS00YjVhLWFmMDUtMzU0ZTI0OTdkNWExXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Role Play</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">⭐️</div><div style="text-align: left;">Streaming On: Prime</div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Comedy, Action</div><div style="text-align: left;">Director: Thomas Vincent</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring: Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Rudi Dharmalingam, Connie Nielson, Bill Nighy</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bv67rkuWoMg" width="320" youtube-src-id="Bv67rkuWoMg"></iframe></div><br />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.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div>The Beekeeper (N/A)</div><div>The Book of Clerence (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">Ferarri</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">The Iron Claw</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Mean Girls (N/A)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2024-week-1.html">Night Swim</a> ⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div>Soul ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BywoLxuBgT0" width="320" youtube-src-id="BywoLxuBgT0"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-68600746751119738432024-01-07T07:49:00.001-07:002024-01-08T05:38:49.718-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 1 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii79Jsddbcy-PNjxgftMjFvvKYxhqEoB_w4YqMoqs2jOK2DO2VBUr066o3Ovb9ZR9WAuCtfJD7VGL5nEcg7cQCBgWzi9Tkgc0kzJvTjC_jTVMy8IhLjX2Jd6bxyeKuygIBL9ziN_YZE5qx3Mrell7b0810oI-9OrYTYsefnnaIctCMuLKxaCLv35gPXnyx/s1583/MV5BOTFlZWVlNDctZDBiMS00MGY1LTk3MjUtNWUzZjY5NGZkM2M1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY5ODI4NDk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1583" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii79Jsddbcy-PNjxgftMjFvvKYxhqEoB_w4YqMoqs2jOK2DO2VBUr066o3Ovb9ZR9WAuCtfJD7VGL5nEcg7cQCBgWzi9Tkgc0kzJvTjC_jTVMy8IhLjX2Jd6bxyeKuygIBL9ziN_YZE5qx3Mrell7b0810oI-9OrYTYsefnnaIctCMuLKxaCLv35gPXnyx/s320/MV5BOTFlZWVlNDctZDBiMS00MGY1LTk3MjUtNWUzZjY5NGZkM2M1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY5ODI4NDk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><b>Night Swim</b><div>⭐️</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Bryce McGuire</div><div>Starring: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle, Gavin Warren<br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pcSNqteCEtE" width="320" youtube-src-id="pcSNqteCEtE"></iframe></div><br />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 <i>nothing, </i>but it's definitely not <i>something</i>, 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.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1S6vtW5-U0i99OTayJdvnx8siAgU4yypWRFPSGpLQod6gVN_Yt8J70-EoD0ZX3Q4hCoFg6dCZ1SWROE4F4QsUajtDbvjtMz5970ySHT1uWCQClvWGtMf3687HDn5cgIjCkt_wHPA3SGADGKw3oqclJnLqFx0mrXEwcxcnx2WovSSVY7Xz0uTOf1fzlZj/s1067/MV5BYzU1NDFhMDUtMThkYS00ODRlLTg1MmEtYWMzMTNhZDg1ZjFjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY5Nzc4MDY@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1S6vtW5-U0i99OTayJdvnx8siAgU4yypWRFPSGpLQod6gVN_Yt8J70-EoD0ZX3Q4hCoFg6dCZ1SWROE4F4QsUajtDbvjtMz5970ySHT1uWCQClvWGtMf3687HDn5cgIjCkt_wHPA3SGADGKw3oqclJnLqFx0mrXEwcxcnx2WovSSVY7Xz0uTOf1fzlZj/s320/MV5BYzU1NDFhMDUtMThkYS00ODRlLTg1MmEtYWMzMTNhZDg1ZjFjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY5Nzc4MDY@._V1_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />Some Other Woman</b></div><div><b>⭐️</b></div><div>Genre: Thriller</div><div>Director: Joel David Moore</div><div>Starring: Amanda Crew, Tom Felton, Ashley Greene Khoury</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LnhRVefxMCg" width="320" youtube-src-id="LnhRVefxMCg"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqMIOzhd4Apd7keveqtZU4SXprB45tqMsoQ2WeNssbDs0SCiN9mW-Ro7T-oSZsbx7alMelVcaiWiDOO3EP6k1vsvti4Q-SBLq9AqnsQWwJta84GxAiKV0-PetBRmcQUEJ9NkR0zVU29Q8IBx2raSE3XNybtKfQr2uE2vK4sG49PxpPOFT51DubGPaOQ17/s1477/MV5BYzVmZDgyN2EtZmE0Zi00NDk3LWI0ZDAtNGMzMzBmNDhjYzFlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTM5NzYzNTU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1477" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqMIOzhd4Apd7keveqtZU4SXprB45tqMsoQ2WeNssbDs0SCiN9mW-Ro7T-oSZsbx7alMelVcaiWiDOO3EP6k1vsvti4Q-SBLq9AqnsQWwJta84GxAiKV0-PetBRmcQUEJ9NkR0zVU29Q8IBx2raSE3XNybtKfQr2uE2vK4sG49PxpPOFT51DubGPaOQ17/s320/MV5BYzVmZDgyN2EtZmE0Zi00NDk3LWI0ZDAtNGMzMzBmNDhjYzFlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTM5NzYzNTU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><b>Weak Layers</b></div><div><b>⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy</div><div>Director: Katie Burrell</div><div>Starring: Katie Burrell, Jadyn Wong, Chelsea Conwright, Evan Jonigkeit, Neal Bledsoe</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/03sB-_2Ep2Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="03sB-_2Ep2Q"></iframe></div><br /><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Boys in the Boat</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">The Color Purple</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">Ferarri</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">The Iron Claw</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">Eileen</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">The Marsh King's Daughter</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dE0KFHYiQ4s" width="320" youtube-src-id="dE0KFHYiQ4s"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ntNS-ANoMyM" width="320" youtube-src-id="ntNS-ANoMyM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fFtdbEgnUOk" width="320" youtube-src-id="fFtdbEgnUOk"></iframe></div></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-19844434592198570302024-01-05T08:53:00.001-07:002024-01-05T08:53:19.020-07:002023 Cinema Playground Journal Archive (My Cinema Playground)<div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-1.html">Week 1</a> (M3GAN, A Man Called Otto, The Pale Blue Eye)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/01/cinema-playground-journal-week-2-my.html">Week 2</a> (The Devil Conspiracy, House Party, Missing, Plane, Shin Ultraman, Skinamarink, Corsage, EO)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-3.html">Week 3</a> (The Son, Women Talking, Sick, Sorry About the Demon)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-4.html">Week 4</a> (Fear, Infinity Pool, Maybe I Do, Living, The Lair, Shotgun Wedding, You People, All Quiet on the Western Front, Turning Red)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/02/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-5.html">Week 5</a> (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)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/02/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-6.html">Week 6</a> (Consecration, Magic Mike's Last Dance, The Outwaters, Triangle of Sadness, At Midnight, Attachment, Somebody I Used to Know, Your Place or Mine)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/02/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-7.html">Week 7</a> (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marlowe, Of an Age, Sharper, Unlocked, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Oscar Nominated Shorts)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/02/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-8.html">Week 8</a> (Bunker, Cocaine Bear, Jesus Revolution, Juniper, Emily, Linoleum, Nocebo, We Have a Ghost, Aftersun, All That Breathes, Blonde, Causeway, Oscar Nominated Shorts: Documentaries)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/03/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-9.html">Week 9</a> (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)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/03/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-10.html">Week 10</a> (65, The Magic Flute, Scream VI, Southern Gospel, No Bears, Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb, Chang Can Dunk)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/03/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-11.html">Week 11</a> (Moving On, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Boston Strangler, Leave, The Magician's Elephant)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/03/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-12.html">Week 12</a> (A Good Person, John Wick: Chapter 4, The Lost King, Paint, Inside)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/04/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-13.html">Week 13</a> (Dungeon & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Malum, Spinning Gold, A Thousand and One, Trinket Box, The Blue Caftan, Return to Seoul, Tetris, The Unheard)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/04/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-14.html">Week 14</a> (Air, Mafia Mamma, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Quiet Girl, Chupa)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/04/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-15.html">Week 15</a> (Nefarious, The Pope's Exorcist, Renfield, Sweetwater, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, Kids vs. Aliens)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/04/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-16.html">Week 16</a> (Beau is Afraid, Chevalier, The Covenant, Evil Dead Rise, Sisu, Somewhere in Queens, Ghosted, Living with Chucky)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/04/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-17.html">Week 17</a> (Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret., Big George Foreman, Polite Society, Peter Pan and Wendy)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-18.html">Week 18</a> (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Hypnotic, Love Again, Showing Up, What's Love Got to Do with It?)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playgro-und-journal-2023-week-19.html">Week 19</a> (BlackBerry, Book Club: The Next Chapter, Fool's Paradise, Knights of the Zodiac, Rally Road Racers, Crater, Huesera: The Bone Woman, The Mother)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-20.html">Week 20</a> (Fast X, Carmen, Monica, Róise & Frank, White Men Can't Jump)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/05/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-21.html">Week 21</a> (About My Father, Kandahar, The Little Mermaid, The Machine, The Wrath of Becky, You Hurt My Feelings, Everything Went Well, Influencer)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">Week 22</a> (The Boogeyman, Shin Kamen Rider, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Sanctuary)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Week 23</a> (Mending the Line, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Starling Girl, Brooklyn 45, Flamin' Hot)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-24.html">Week 24</a> (The Blackening, Elemental, The Flash, No Hard Feelings, Extraction II)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-25.html">Week 25</a> (Asteroid City, God Is a Bullet, Past Lives, The Perfect Find, Unwelcome)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Week 26</a> (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; Joy Ride; Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken; Nimona)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-27.html">Week 27</a> (Insidious: The Red Door, The Lesson, The Out-Laws)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Week 28</a> (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Quicksand)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Week 29</a> (Barbie, The Miracle Club, Oppenheimer, They Cloned Tyrone)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-30.html">Week 30</a> (Haunted Mansion, Talk to Me, Happiness for Beginners, Sharksploitation)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-31.html">Week 31</a> (Meg 2: The Trench, Shortcomings, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Theater Camp)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-32.html">Week 32</a> (Grand Turismo, Jules, The Last Voyage of the Demeter)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-33.html">Week 33</a> (Back on the Strip, Blue Beetle, Landscape with Invisible Hand, Strays, Bad Things, The Communion Girl, Heart of Stone)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Week 34</a> (Golda, The Hill: The Rickey Hill Story, Retribution, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-35.html">Week 35</a> (Bottoms, The Equalizer 3, The Good Mother, Never Give Up, The Passengers of the Night, Perpetrator)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-36.html">Week 36</a> (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)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">Week 37</a> (Camp Hideout, A Haunting in Venice, The Inventor, The Retirement Plan, Elevator Game, Love at First Sight, A Million Miles Away)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Week 38</a> (Dumb Money, Expend4bles, It Lives Inside, Amerikatsi, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, No One Will Save You)<br /></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Week 39</a> (The Creator, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Saw X, Flora and Son, Nightmare)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-40.html">Week 40</a> (The Exorcist: Believer; Shelter in Solitude; My Sailor, My Love; The Royal Hotel; The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial; Pet Sematary: Bloodlines; Totally Killer)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-41.html">Week 41</a> (The Puppetman, V/H/S/85)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Week 42</a> (Dicks: The Musical, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Other Zoey, Soul Mates, Night of the Hunted)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Week 43</a> (Five Nights at Freddy's, Freelance, Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow, Anatomy of a Fall)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">Week 44</a> (Divinity, Lonesome Soldier, The Marsh King's Daughter, Priscilla)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">Week 45</a> (The Holdovers, It's a Wonderful Knife, Journey to Bethlehem, The Marvels, The Killer)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Week 46</a> (Next Goal Wins, Thanksgiving, Trolls Band Together, The Persian Version, What Happens Later)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Week 47</a> (Napoleon, Saltburn, Wish, Good Burger 2)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Week 48</a> (Dream Scenario, Godzilla Minus One, The Shift, Silent Night, Candy Cane Lane, Family Switch)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">Week 49</a> (The Boy and the Heron, Eileen, The Oath, Fallen Leaves)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Week 50</a> (Wonka, Maestro, The Sacrifice Game)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Week 51</a> (Anyone But You, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Iron Claw, Migration, Poor Things, Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2024/01/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-52.html">Week 52</a> (The Boys in the Boat, The Color Purple, Ferarri)</div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-73783598038175476282024-01-01T06:30:00.000-07:002024-01-01T06:30:22.656-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 52 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><b><div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBRIgGBdfGwqMl7W4JJp_aU5x924-9vyKloNbGkKz4ArZp-_p2BHxSvKYanUo5BddHTV_aPqNwfHq3yOjyfYzhnMQvgLzBVvRiu_CWVD0_qM0kgU4vhhmHHbWkBF_revTEJYlOLVzg9ujjO2Omo1GhMPe2HJcCuTnRmu9atJwLSslIBghRpS9V3AjdP7A/s2880/MV5BMDhjZDM2YTMtM2NlZS00YjYxLTg4ZGUtMzgzMTQ2M2JjMmFiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk2NDQ3MTA@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2880" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBRIgGBdfGwqMl7W4JJp_aU5x924-9vyKloNbGkKz4ArZp-_p2BHxSvKYanUo5BddHTV_aPqNwfHq3yOjyfYzhnMQvgLzBVvRiu_CWVD0_qM0kgU4vhhmHHbWkBF_revTEJYlOLVzg9ujjO2Omo1GhMPe2HJcCuTnRmu9atJwLSslIBghRpS9V3AjdP7A/s320/MV5BMDhjZDM2YTMtM2NlZS00YjYxLTg4ZGUtMzgzMTQ2M2JjMmFiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk2NDQ3MTA@._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />The Boys in the Boat</b><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Drama, Sports</div><div>Director: George Clooney</div><div>Starring: Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dfEA-udzjjQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="dfEA-udzjjQ"></iframe></div><br />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?<br /><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhB-WZGbzMfsr0CxtwP-8DoPtmzs-jmbqVhWQvB1XplbLTNk1Eugns05gwdc8XQ4Svdzk8nwC3hfsfaMn2xeLK06-GgKcfAxE0p09sbgVc7Yr6f_5Z1WHJFKNDeoDDi_8LG_D11eQ6jclo3YnJT7Q2JTHAXKzgKs-E9eyLTFZrtNVwhOBur9FoVgoG7fIs/s1482/MV5BYjBkNGE0NGYtYmU5Ny00NjRiLTk5MmYtMWU4NzYxMDE4YWY4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhB-WZGbzMfsr0CxtwP-8DoPtmzs-jmbqVhWQvB1XplbLTNk1Eugns05gwdc8XQ4Svdzk8nwC3hfsfaMn2xeLK06-GgKcfAxE0p09sbgVc7Yr6f_5Z1WHJFKNDeoDDi_8LG_D11eQ6jclo3YnJT7Q2JTHAXKzgKs-E9eyLTFZrtNVwhOBur9FoVgoG7fIs/s320/MV5BYjBkNGE0NGYtYmU5Ny00NjRiLTk5MmYtMWU4NzYxMDE4YWY4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />The Color Purple</b></div><div><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>1/2</div><div>Genre: Musical, Drama</div><div>Director: Blitz Bazawule</div><div>Starring: Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ndg_SfB48es" width="320" youtube-src-id="ndg_SfB48es"></iframe></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div>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.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIl8tlcBRGBA_IjU3d_xUd596ps-Vs77DacsfMiRpTRgcVdhiFPZQvmEO4mjKiZGjMHLU9Y-4qgXqDynK7VNnOdUwMts2RSNAevPpaZiFp7NsFaqHkFjLsi6VJ7zuYTfyz0m4Xuur39xZIqRSbn0NIBG66fih8_4Ujjk_jWhKHAYlJI-O9Qu0nQT-e08B/s1481/MV5BNTM0YTBlMjctZjJjZS00MDU4LTg5YmQtMDY5Y2FhMWZiMjQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU0NzQxNTE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIl8tlcBRGBA_IjU3d_xUd596ps-Vs77DacsfMiRpTRgcVdhiFPZQvmEO4mjKiZGjMHLU9Y-4qgXqDynK7VNnOdUwMts2RSNAevPpaZiFp7NsFaqHkFjLsi6VJ7zuYTfyz0m4Xuur39xZIqRSbn0NIBG66fih8_4Ujjk_jWhKHAYlJI-O9Qu0nQT-e08B/s320/MV5BNTM0YTBlMjctZjJjZS00MDU4LTg5YmQtMDY5Y2FhMWZiMjQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU0NzQxNTE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Ferrari</b></div></div><div><b>⭐️⭐️⭐️</b></div><div>Genre: Drama, Sports</div><div>Director: Michael Mann</div><div>Starring: Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O'Connell, Patrick Dempsey</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wOX91Hqlcx0" width="320" youtube-src-id="wOX91Hqlcx0"></iframe></div><br /><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Anyone But You</a> ⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</a> ⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">The Iron Claw</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Migration</a>⭐️⭐️1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-51.html">Poor Things</a> ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Dream Scenario</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Silent Night</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PhlLO3Nb3sY" width="320" youtube-src-id="PhlLO3Nb3sY"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-49637449810877691462023-12-24T05:49:00.002-07:002023-12-24T06:30:11.622-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 51 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOIkoHrF6c-0747V5_ky0CBX2nQWDh0YIq5iUSZvvrJ7QLJscsP4-C7iDDtCvpvyOI6QupKewV0Ko-bOdzBmzPQEtFfv5tM8vN0NB7DDpImE0Xgncc1_i5NTVCqdC_FFKO0fFiY9Aoj9ufXo4ZAPmonNIOg73mdNhcE81k8UXDJDnEvVDC-EWbn0jleTk/s1482/MV5BYmQ2MmY2MmYtMjUzOS00Y2MyLWE4YmQtYzIzYWQ4OTdmMGU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOIkoHrF6c-0747V5_ky0CBX2nQWDh0YIq5iUSZvvrJ7QLJscsP4-C7iDDtCvpvyOI6QupKewV0Ko-bOdzBmzPQEtFfv5tM8vN0NB7DDpImE0Xgncc1_i5NTVCqdC_FFKO0fFiY9Aoj9ufXo4ZAPmonNIOg73mdNhcE81k8UXDJDnEvVDC-EWbn0jleTk/s320/MV5BYmQ2MmY2MmYtMjUzOS00Y2MyLWE4YmQtYzIzYWQ4OTdmMGU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Anyone But You</b><div>⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Romance</div><div>Director: Will Gluck</div><div>Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Melroney, Darren Barnett, Rachel Griffiths</div><div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lx8_AvXywCY" width="320" youtube-src-id="Lx8_AvXywCY"></iframe></div><br />Hot people deal with hot people problems in this dumbfuck of a romcom where Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney play two people who had a date that went sour and are then forced to spend a week in Australia for a wedding which their mutual passive aggression threatens to derail. They then decide to fake a romance to attempt to not ruin the big day while also inspire jealousy in former lovers. Of course, their resent turns into passion the deeper they get into it, because that's what these movies do. It's a little bit Ticket to Paradise, except younger, firmer, and with more nudity. It's also a lot dumber. Ticket to Paradise wasn't a smart movie to begin with, but it at least felt figured out. Anyone But You feels like a pitch hammered out in an hour, without much desire to tweak it as it went. The idea could have potential, sure, but the movie is constantly pushing itself forward with beats and scenarios that lack the logic they need to be a plot point. The reason Powell and Sweeney hate each other is stupid. The reason they have to pretend to be in love with each other is nonsense. A lot of the comedic setpieces of the film are logistical nightmares that were more concerned with the idea of a comedic image than actually making it make sense in the moment. It leads up to one of the worst "guy chases down girl" endings I've ever seen in a romcom, where the movie goes full dumpster fire in a romantic gesture that is neither romantic nor practical. Powell and Sweeney are charismatic enough to carry a raunchy romcom like this. If the script, plotting, and gag work didn't suck half as much as they do, this movie would probably be charming. But couples looking for a sexy romance will get to see the duo hot for each other and take their clothes off, so it does fulfill its service.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GBzZ6VS8BoQHQIc26r-Lx6geIM_h6DtDf00Dlu5nUgZX5dkuMCwWlbV55cXvHqR685_qX7CBd_80wR-MRS98cyNTgodioOWgGUMq9i9_NZ2wPgVkc34BJjuBezdOV1HDHzEoecoH7BEK4SSb_ech9sBRzYabjxg6O2NCaxP_Pm3gEuM4LxnBUPY3ebYR/s3000/MV5BMTkxM2FiYjctYjliYy00NjY2LWFmOTEtMWZiYWRjNjA4MGYxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GBzZ6VS8BoQHQIc26r-Lx6geIM_h6DtDf00Dlu5nUgZX5dkuMCwWlbV55cXvHqR685_qX7CBd_80wR-MRS98cyNTgodioOWgGUMq9i9_NZ2wPgVkc34BJjuBezdOV1HDHzEoecoH7BEK4SSb_ech9sBRzYabjxg6O2NCaxP_Pm3gEuM4LxnBUPY3ebYR/s320/MV5BMTkxM2FiYjctYjliYy00NjY2LWFmOTEtMWZiYWRjNjA4MGYxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</b></div><div>⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure</div><div>Director: James Wan</div><div>Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, Nicole Kidman, John Rhys-Davies</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UGc5Tzz19UY" width="320" youtube-src-id="UGc5Tzz19UY"></iframe></div><br />It's the last gasp of DC's current cinematic universe incarnation, before getting retinkered with James Gunn's Superman: Legacy in 2025. DC has struggled with getting people to care about this year's slate of films because they never seemed to matter, though I still contend Shazam and Blue Beetle were worth watching and The Flash had its moments. Then there is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which takes cues from Thor: The Dark World and puts our punk rock hero and has him team up with his antagonistic brother on a globetrotting journey to take down a bigger threat. If nothing else, I admire James Wan's determination to make the Aquaman movies into hammy pulp adventure porn. Where the line is that crosses into overkill is unknown, because subtlety isn't what he does. I enjoyed the first Aquaman movie, in spite of its worst tendencies, mostly because I found its enthusiasm for itself infectious. Lost Kingdom has the same enthusiasm, though it seems to have doubled down on it so hard that it becomes self-indulgent. It's kind of a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen situation, but not quite as rambunctiously obnoxious about it. Lost Kingdom is more of what the first movie is, but with bolder setpieces and broader comedy, the former being spectacular and the latter being inconsistent. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II owns every second of his screentime as Black Manta, and Wan knows how to use him, making Manta one of the best villains in a superhero flick this year. Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson are mostly confined to being a comedic duo when they aren't punching people, and the movie's sense of humor is probably a bit more animated than most might like. The much-maligned Amber Heard is also back in spite of rumors that she had been fully dropped from the film, but the movie keeps her at arm's length even when it feels like she should be important to a scene. I presume this was done because the filmmakers have no idea whether or not the audience wanted them to keep her or not and they didn't want to risk any blowback, but it just muddies the waters in the narrative, causing the movie's flow to suffer. It's a rousing display of spectacle, but everything else it goes for just goes numb.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_M18KxTbxzw6PDUd2j2wyskm-MKbdBmoA-zTc2CEcM-VuZ1k9uphULYH__xojsaK0WZ2EXViJHQiqjwkKBGITqpkDXmMSuyAUdNefySUWiRqmZ36WX4JdsRJDWsaWQDyReZWQmEXGqo5ZMOXSm0YPY09KLTIEFbOldUZJYHdGVm9Epgp8UEtY7Fm9kmn/s3000/MV5BNTMyNmNlYjItNmM2Yi00YWViLTk5Y2MtNGI4YWEyOWU4N2U2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2025" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_M18KxTbxzw6PDUd2j2wyskm-MKbdBmoA-zTc2CEcM-VuZ1k9uphULYH__xojsaK0WZ2EXViJHQiqjwkKBGITqpkDXmMSuyAUdNefySUWiRqmZ36WX4JdsRJDWsaWQDyReZWQmEXGqo5ZMOXSm0YPY09KLTIEFbOldUZJYHdGVm9Epgp8UEtY7Fm9kmn/s320/MV5BNTMyNmNlYjItNmM2Yi00YWViLTk5Y2MtNGI4YWEyOWU4N2U2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Iron Claw</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Drama, Sports</div><div>Director: Sean Durkin</div><div>Starring: Zac Efron, Holt McCallany, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Lily James, Stanley Simons</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8KVsaoveTbw" width="320" youtube-src-id="8KVsaoveTbw"></iframe></div><br />Zac Efron is headlining a movie with Oscar buzz behind it. This is the world we live in now.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Iron Claw is a biopic dedicated to the careers of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers, seeing them rise to stardom and how tragedy overtook the family in part due to the pressures of their driven father. It's an interesting story with horrible consequences, though as someone who has limited knowledge of wrestling (though I do know who Ric Flair is), it feels like the story is scrunched down and setting the pacing askew. The movie is very casual sports drama for the first half, then it just pummels the awful fates of these men in an overstuffed second half, which gives the impression that all of these events happened in close proximity when they were in fact years apart. One of the Von Erich brothers was even cut out of the movie entirely, because the filmmakers thought it would have been too much tragedy for one movie. My criticism of that is that it almost implies that his suffering is less important than the suffering of the rest of his family and is somewhat disrespectful. Regardless, the movie is a good watch for sports fans and people who like their movies with heavy, relentless drama. Zac Efron, who has gone from jacked hunk to full blown beefcake for this, gives what is probably the performance of his career. He's in a tricky position, because he is playing a character who subdues his emotions due to his upbringing and spends most of the film with people emoting at him instead. When the script actually lets him loose, he impresses. Maura Tierney also deserves a shout-out for making the most of limited screentime.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwux1a-rxv0WbA6rZou4PCvXEspBp26Bl-C7-VmUcuvxLvq_NyfVIz1BRlEjDv8L5qwn6zHCn5ieCTQSYz1Y4JR3HbRI0y17tgcNTScNrevCknAFQV9d4X_N90eT6agEHMGwKquHayF9xq3SCRJm3Crx-Og698qTG4RbSopCWdKX5cD34dendS6EYNqPur/s1500/MV5BYjQxMWY5NjgtNDI2NS00MWM2LTg2MDAtNjI5NGIwZTNmYWZiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="947" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwux1a-rxv0WbA6rZou4PCvXEspBp26Bl-C7-VmUcuvxLvq_NyfVIz1BRlEjDv8L5qwn6zHCn5ieCTQSYz1Y4JR3HbRI0y17tgcNTScNrevCknAFQV9d4X_N90eT6agEHMGwKquHayF9xq3SCRJm3Crx-Og698qTG4RbSopCWdKX5cD34dendS6EYNqPur/s320/MV5BYjQxMWY5NjgtNDI2NS00MWM2LTg2MDAtNjI5NGIwZTNmYWZiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><b>Migration</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Adventure</div><div>Director: Benjamin Renner</div><div>Starring: Kumall Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, David Mitchell, Carol Kane, Casper Jennings, Tresi Gazal, Danny DeVito</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cQfo0HJhCnE" width="320" youtube-src-id="cQfo0HJhCnE"></iframe></div><br />Illumination's second time at bat this year is their spin on a family road trip comedy, only with ducks. Migration tells tale of a family of mallards who migrate for the first time in their lives. Shenanigans ensue. It's a more properly cooked narrative than their first movie this year, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but is also a less interesting experience. The series of vignettes that the group embark never feel strong enough to engross, though they're simple enough to entertain wee ones. I did enjoy how the filmmakers seemed to take inspiration from horror movies for their setpieces, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Midsommar, and even the "To Serve Man" Twilight Zone episode, but, ultimately, I found the film too light to be fulfilling. I don't think the movie should have been more complicated, it's a kids' movie after all, but if it pushed its creativity a bit further than it did, this movie could have been something special.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eqemgly99RA_3A7LRWNdsbhB-ZKyCFg9o5ovPL9w9UF0iPLgcvwyseSBBBuDe-gwZD083u8-QW5bXPinEbigyA0QVsfvK0y453Z0Glz9BAtrGW9aTNs9-YxmqHVxz-1wdPRxEwAdbKsldo4UrTr7W_eI88xPzR4XPmt6Iugcn7lUvJgtOWAKtqiFbPa3/s1481/MV5BNGIyYWMzNjktNDE3MC00YWQyLWEyMmEtN2ZmNzZhZDk3NGJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eqemgly99RA_3A7LRWNdsbhB-ZKyCFg9o5ovPL9w9UF0iPLgcvwyseSBBBuDe-gwZD083u8-QW5bXPinEbigyA0QVsfvK0y453Z0Glz9BAtrGW9aTNs9-YxmqHVxz-1wdPRxEwAdbKsldo4UrTr7W_eI88xPzR4XPmt6Iugcn7lUvJgtOWAKtqiFbPa3/s320/MV5BNGIyYWMzNjktNDE3MC00YWQyLWEyMmEtN2ZmNzZhZDk3NGJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Poor Things</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction</div><div>Director: Yorgos Lanthimos</div><div>Starring: Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youseff, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RlbR5N6veqw" width="320" youtube-src-id="RlbR5N6veqw"></iframe></div><br />Yorgos Lanthimos is back after his success with his previous feature, the critical and audience favorite that also happened to be called The Favourite, this time putting his unique comedy chops behind a version of a Frankenstein tale. Poor Things is about a scientist who finds the body of a pregnant woman who committed suicide, only to reanimate her by transplanting the brain of her unborn child into her. The newfound infant in a woman's body experiences life at a rapid pace, learning as she goes through her unique life outlook. To lay my cards on the table, I wasn't a huge fan of The Favourite. That wasn't due to the lack of effort by everyone involved (Olivia Colman deserved that Oscar and I will fight anyone who disagrees), but rather I found that I didn't find the movie's tone and story to live harmoniously together. I did not have that problem with Poor Things. Poor Things is a circus freak show and Lanthimos's flamboyant idiosyncratic approach suits it wonderfully. It's an innocent, but odd, view of the world through the eyes of an innocent, but odd, character, showing us how she sees life, death, money, love, and so, so, so much sex (because once you discover what down there is for, it's hard to stop). Interestingly, it is also the story of a woman who is being guided by men in a male-dominated world, which leads her with questions about why life is the way it is and why she must conform to these rules, because they're contradictory and don't make sense. She never receives an explanation that she is satisfied with (but then again, have any of us?), though there is a touching story about a woman learning to be a woman at the heart of it.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pZEyMa3vEd3Cv0KOPAjdivH07XIn7uYvWB7ErOQPVEWExO61dO63mlf5USD7LaLEMztnD3S11Beum5sE-hfBRleqS2BQYZFvB_Z1z-nzAJll3wi3-N2ZASyyB47KObhsbcVJjyAd8XAaWlcZ6LPXGH-kASrg0IaUI3P-yUvSfWUXBxJHcZWoEmK7Tr2D/s1480/MV5BMjZmYjJlYzUtZWM1My00YmUxLTlkNjEtYmYwMzIzOWE5YmRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDc5ODIzMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pZEyMa3vEd3Cv0KOPAjdivH07XIn7uYvWB7ErOQPVEWExO61dO63mlf5USD7LaLEMztnD3S11Beum5sE-hfBRleqS2BQYZFvB_Z1z-nzAJll3wi3-N2ZASyyB47KObhsbcVJjyAd8XAaWlcZ6LPXGH-kASrg0IaUI3P-yUvSfWUXBxJHcZWoEmK7Tr2D/s320/MV5BMjZmYjJlYzUtZWM1My00YmUxLTlkNjEtYmYwMzIzOWE5YmRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDc5ODIzMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a>.</div><br /><b>Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire</b></div></div></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Streaming On: Netflix</div><div>Genre: Science Fiction</div><div>Director: Zack Snyder</div><div>Starring: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fhr3MzT6exg" width="320" youtube-src-id="fhr3MzT6exg"></iframe></div><br />I'm not going to lie, I was not looking forward to watching this movie. I almost didn't, but I had the time, it was there, and I do like to put a streaming option on these posts, so Rebel Moon it is. I'm not a huge fan of Zack Snyder, dating back to when I was underwhelmed by his otherwise praised Dawn of the Dead remake, followed by a similar experience with 300, and most recently with his previous Netflix production, the unreasonably boring Army of the Dead. Despite my lackluster response to all of those movies, Snyder's worst vices all take shape when he's left unchecked, with free-reign projects like the disastrous Sucker Punch and that brutal four-hour Justice League movie that desperately needed an editor. This two-part Rebel Moon movie had all the signs that it was going to be one of those. And it is. Surprisingly, it's also one of Snyder's better movies, too. I'm as shocked as you are.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rebel Moon evidently started out as a Zack Snyder's pitch to Lucasfilm for his own Star Wars movie, where he used the universe to tell a sci-fi take on Seven Samurai. Neveryoumind that a sci-fi version of Seven Samurai already exists, and it's called Battle Beyond the Stars (it's a cheap Roger Corman production, but it's still a sci-fi Seven Samurai). One can see why Snyder's instincts of bringing Seven Samurai to the Star Was universe sound firm, as Star Wars had its inspiration in another Akira Kurosawa samurai classic, The Hidden Fortress, and regardless of the setting used (from the old west to a colony of ants), Seven Samurai is a really strong template for a movie. This first Rebel Moon movie starts off very well, allowing the "farming colony being bullied by outsiders" story to play out by letting the drama do the work. It starts to crumble upon itself when the hunt for protectors to fend off those who prey upon the weak storyline. The movie starts to get weighted down by exposition and Snyder starts to indulge in his trademark of using setpieces and designs that he thinks looks cool that don't really serve a logical purpose or service the film. Credit where credit is due, while this first film doesn't conclude its large narrative, it works better as a singular film than I expected it to (but I also expected Snyder to just cut one long movie in half and call it good, so my expectations were in the dirt). It actually finds a reasonable cut-off point that works as a cliffhanger but also concludes the "gathering of heroes" portion of the movie, while also ending with a large action sequence that is pretty entertaining. I am actually interested in watching Part Two, which is more interest than I had in watching Part One before it came out.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Saltburn</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/c.html">Wonka</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Dream Scenario</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Silent Night</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-40.html">The Exorcist: Believer</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-40.html">Pet Sematary: Bloodlines</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">The Retirement Plan</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">What Happens Later</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ndg_SfB48es" width="320" youtube-src-id="ndg_SfB48es"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-5509871469448991742023-12-18T02:20:00.004-07:002023-12-18T02:23:26.977-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 50 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9cm-zupHk3VYVClU0uw_cHBcgExbwEQyGgrA5vTivobH0D-3Vrqns1bfW4x7TTstcbBGqQOq_9328N_vJ9eb1lCIeXJ9_Dh9pCZMyplj6kqh-lm2d5Dwt6hfkQPKrS0CKcZ0bzCjpxkINuPTSTwHwQ_jrtAzqreo1E6Tue5ynbSx1ZXbWbmZU04gXqLx/s1250/MV5BNDM4NTk0NjktZDJhMi00MmFmLTliMzEtN2RkZDY2OTNiMDgzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9cm-zupHk3VYVClU0uw_cHBcgExbwEQyGgrA5vTivobH0D-3Vrqns1bfW4x7TTstcbBGqQOq_9328N_vJ9eb1lCIeXJ9_Dh9pCZMyplj6kqh-lm2d5Dwt6hfkQPKrS0CKcZ0bzCjpxkINuPTSTwHwQ_jrtAzqreo1E6Tue5ynbSx1ZXbWbmZU04gXqLx/s320/MV5BNDM4NTk0NjktZDJhMi00MmFmLTliMzEtN2RkZDY2OTNiMDgzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><b>Wonka</b><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Fantasy, Musical, Comedy</div><div>Director: Paul King</div><div>Starring: Timothy Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Matthew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wYmtRhKvmVE" width="320" youtube-src-id="wYmtRhKvmVE"></iframe></div><br />I've never been a huge Willy Wonka fan. As a child I found the original movie unpleasant and never saw the need to revisit it. As an adult, I found Tim Burton's remake was even more unpleasant and have even less of a desire to revisit it. I just associate this franchise with sitting is solemn silence and wishing I were dead. Now there's a prequel. Hooray?</div><div><br /></div><div>In the surprise of the century, it actually isn't unpleasant.</div><div><br /></div><div>Paul King, director of the beloved Paddington movies, brings us this story of a young Willy Wonka selling his chocolate on the streets and dealing with retaliation from the city's chocolate shop kingpins. The film has that huggable comfort vibe that made King's Paddington movies so enchanting, though with a bit more flamboyance, in line with what one might expect from a Willy Wonka movie. It succeeds in giving the Wonka franchise a whimsy that just seemed ugly in previous works. It's a fun and cute movie, if a bit overtly goofy in places (likely intentionally so). I admit, I didn't quite care for Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa, but I've never liked Oompa Loompas in general because I've always thought they'd murder me in my sleep, and this movie did nothing to make that fear subside. The musical numbers are also a mixed bag. Some songs are good, some songs are meh, all are rather forgettable. It's not the best family movie of the year, but it does successfully entertain a family for a night.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBydIHdEsp4xhypDh9RtzTfe6XOmXVh63WIIn8okwNaaD4n7-W-jT7XFWD7Ie4Znm0NCgi10VrA4zmzZR1eKgoDkq7O-zX4keI6isxgq076IfRr6fAMmg9pZ3VPxccnm470BRe47U4DFqEYRF96aFJQHmkc469M-sN7FFA8iNZQYfLk40u3tgAU2ToDXtb/s2048/MV5BOGI2MzQ1NzQtMmVkOC00ZGI0LWI3YjQtN2FjMzQ1NmRhNzFhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODE5NzE3OTE@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1383" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBydIHdEsp4xhypDh9RtzTfe6XOmXVh63WIIn8okwNaaD4n7-W-jT7XFWD7Ie4Znm0NCgi10VrA4zmzZR1eKgoDkq7O-zX4keI6isxgq076IfRr6fAMmg9pZ3VPxccnm470BRe47U4DFqEYRF96aFJQHmkc469M-sN7FFA8iNZQYfLk40u3tgAU2ToDXtb/s320/MV5BOGI2MzQ1NzQtMmVkOC00ZGI0LWI3YjQtN2FjMzQ1NmRhNzFhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODE5NzE3OTE@._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Maestro</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Bradley Cooper</div><div>Starring: Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gJP2QblqLA0" width="320" youtube-src-id="gJP2QblqLA0"></iframe></div><br />Bradley Cooper finally graces us with a sophomore effort after his remake of A Star is Born, and it's another one that has built some Oscar momentum for itself. Cooper stars as famed composer Leonard Bernstein, probably best known to film fans for his work on West Side Story and On the Waterfront. Maestro tells a life story of Bernstein largely through his relationship with his wife Felicia, played by Carey Mulligan (who is a seasoned actress from Academy Award winning films like Promising Young Woman, but will always be Sally Sparrow from her one episode of Doctor Who to me), largely relating a complicated love between a woman and a man who has love affairs with other men on the side. Cooper goes bold with his style on the movie (he loves to play with transitional editing), which sometimes threatens to overwhelm the narrative of the film, but he lucks out in Leonard and Felicia's love affair being an intriguing dynamic. He is also very detailed with the film, portraying eras very true to form, both in reality and hyperreality. One thing he loves to do is switch up the cinematography and acting styles, so they ring true to the eras they are set in. The end result is an engaging film that thrives on the heart at its center. Netflix subscribers may want to check this one out when it hits streaming next week.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OkUqejjIX_ebR3k0q_kPya2bIB9677SKK2uFtcafbtNblbbKHThVFbE_kv9ZqFQv2Y7cQQS_6aucXjl8aoCmoAJV3HIvQlgzBghTkHdFvuyiabXc14LzbdccwsnD6kRlKyrdOwTnUJ4PgeQYP2G26baBAuarxLPeIntObZF6cwN0iO6vHLfWlNwVyZPv/s1481/MV5BOTIwNTJlMWEtMDZhOC00NjZiLWJjZmEtYjQ4YzhlY2NmMWQ0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjIwMTIxNDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OkUqejjIX_ebR3k0q_kPya2bIB9677SKK2uFtcafbtNblbbKHThVFbE_kv9ZqFQv2Y7cQQS_6aucXjl8aoCmoAJV3HIvQlgzBghTkHdFvuyiabXc14LzbdccwsnD6kRlKyrdOwTnUJ4PgeQYP2G26baBAuarxLPeIntObZF6cwN0iO6vHLfWlNwVyZPv/s320/MV5BOTIwNTJlMWEtMDZhOC00NjZiLWJjZmEtYjQ4YzhlY2NmMWQ0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjIwMTIxNDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Sacrifice Game</b></div><div>⭐⭐</div><div>Streaming On: Shudder</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Jenn Wexler</div><div>Starring: Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Gus Kenworthy, Madison Baines, Derek Johns, Laurent Pitre, Chloë Levine, Georgia Acken</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A3a6vwKrfGE" width="320" youtube-src-id="A3a6vwKrfGE"></iframe></div><br />It's The Holdovers meets The Devil's Rejects in a Shudder holiday offering which sees a pair of students and their teacher who are left over at a boarding school over the holidays terrorized by a satanic cult hoping to conjure a demon. That's only half the story, which has a few surprises in store during its narrative, a lot of which are really fun. The issue that The Sacrifice Game runs into is that it dicks around. The movie is a pretty bland offering of villains giving hammy "I am bad guy, hear me roar" speeches for over half the its runtime before deciding to save itself by twisting its premise on its head, which offers some inspiration in its "idiots who claim to be Satan's disciples accidentally getting what they want" idea. The few narrative hiccups left over from its shaky first half anchor it down, but it's not uninteresting. Horror fans will probably want to check it out for a pretty excellent performance by a young actress named Georgia Acken, who plays a student named Clara in the film. She spends most of it with a Christina Ricci/Jenna Ortega/Wednesday Addams style straight face, but when the movie decides to let her shine, she comes in guns blazing. She's also given a little dance, which is either the most unnerving thing in the movie or the funniest, but kudos to her for just jumping into that rhythm the way that she did.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Boy and the Heron</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Dream Scenario</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">Eileen</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-week-49-my.html">The Oath</a> ⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Saltburn</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Silent Night</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">Priscilla</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Dumb Money</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Pinocchio ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-31.html">Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem</a> ⭐⭐⭐<br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FV3bqvOHRQo" width="320" youtube-src-id="FV3bqvOHRQo"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cQfo0HJhCnE" width="320" youtube-src-id="cQfo0HJhCnE"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RlbR5N6veqw" width="320" youtube-src-id="RlbR5N6veqw"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-76600485312143896952023-12-11T08:35:00.002-07:002023-12-11T08:38:54.079-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 49 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsBH_Wl3LKZcLhyphenhyphenhic_v3ujeJbcgAhiDxxkPoeSpgRXvwaJYxcpkeSxI6jAZjBuTj1u1Mcce9-s_hspuANWGylhTlMwwnlNZUTZI66zrgvtFPb_WN_-72_p8o_f6FHiQxUfy5Gyutm1eQayFvTj535OhDQCAzl1L3QJ5yatmRUKy7EPOT8x4aMFp1ia25/s1463/MV5BZjZkNThjNTMtOGU0Ni00ZDliLThmNGUtZmMxNWQ3YzAxZTQ1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1463" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsBH_Wl3LKZcLhyphenhyphenhic_v3ujeJbcgAhiDxxkPoeSpgRXvwaJYxcpkeSxI6jAZjBuTj1u1Mcce9-s_hspuANWGylhTlMwwnlNZUTZI66zrgvtFPb_WN_-72_p8o_f6FHiQxUfy5Gyutm1eQayFvTj535OhDQCAzl1L3QJ5yatmRUKy7EPOT8x4aMFp1ia25/s320/MV5BZjZkNThjNTMtOGU0Ni00ZDliLThmNGUtZmMxNWQ3YzAxZTQ1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br /><b>The Boy and the Heron</b><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Fantasy</div><div>Director: Hayao Miyazaki</div><div>Starring: Varies depending on subbed or dubbed</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t5khm-VjEu4" width="320" youtube-src-id="t5khm-VjEu4"></iframe></div><br />Beloved Animation titan Hayao Miyazaki is back with a brand-new Alice in Wonderland tale, this one featuring a young boy who follows a strange Heron (with a man's head inside his beak) into a fantasy world to save his pregnant stepmother. Miyazaki is one of those talents whose name in the credits is good enough to tell a certain audience that this is one of the must-see movies of the year, so putting my thoughts to paper is meaningless, because everyone who is seeing it is already rushing to see it. I'm also not as inclined to hyper praise Miyazaki, as I find his movies artful and beautiful, but they make me sleepy. I'm not sure if you should take that as a knock against it, it's just that they're just soft and comfortable. The Boy and the Heron is another one, though per usual it's a trademark story that's equally weird and lovely. I'll leave it to Miyazaki fans to praise this one, because I don't really have the level of enthusiasm to recommend a Miyazaki movie to people who watch Miyazaki movies. That's best left to people who have watched way more Miyazaki movies than I have. It is really good, though. If you're only a casual viewer, like myself, it's worth a watch.<br /><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rwu6ZRaKgIArzGMVuVnwcXev0pWH8dAMhbj_gmB3bE8Fajh5GwsszP9OAoruYRAMRFwdHPSd6VepfdtMv6Hn1jU0cnkVotXjEYC9_fDdeUUdmelPh3Jw_zOvxmO1Iw6W-AqGCKsEMDZmiU9FWsVlJaQ-QZ0qAd7PG2LuxC6IO7LvtJZZ2crm6usvEXnf/s3000/MV5BZjAxNDA2MmMtNTk1Ni00N2RhLWE4ZjYtYWM2YWYxMzc3YjE4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDA4NzMyOA@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2031" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rwu6ZRaKgIArzGMVuVnwcXev0pWH8dAMhbj_gmB3bE8Fajh5GwsszP9OAoruYRAMRFwdHPSd6VepfdtMv6Hn1jU0cnkVotXjEYC9_fDdeUUdmelPh3Jw_zOvxmO1Iw6W-AqGCKsEMDZmiU9FWsVlJaQ-QZ0qAd7PG2LuxC6IO7LvtJZZ2crm6usvEXnf/s320/MV5BZjAxNDA2MmMtNTk1Ni00N2RhLWE4ZjYtYWM2YWYxMzc3YjE4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDA4NzMyOA@@._V1_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />Eileen</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Thriller, Drama</div><div>Director: William Oldroyd</div><div>Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Shea Whigham</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1PYJIBoBPtU" width="320" youtube-src-id="1PYJIBoBPtU"></iframe></div><br />I don't make a habit out of tearing down to prop up, but while watching Eileen I couldn't help but compare it to another queer-coded dramatic thriller with added sexual tension from a few weeks ago, Saltburn. Saltburn is the one more likely to get attention, because it's an audacious movie that is tailored specifically to that audience that likes their movies to be twisty, weirdly stimulating, and feature a little bit of dong. Saltburn was a good movie, but it didn't play as well with me because it never felt like it was unfolding. It would telegraph itself, never subtly (in fact it would be screaming at you), then just hammer away without an actual flow to it until it gets to its ending, which wasn't nearly as surprising as it seemed to think it was. I admired its swing, but it didn't hit the ball home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Enter Eileen, which is a queer-coded dramatic thriller with added sexual tension that cracks the bat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some are likely to dismiss it in favor of Saltburn, because its attitude and style is less bold, but on the other hand, Eileen doesn't feel like it's compensating for its lack of rhythm. Eileen just lets its story play. It starts with a slight social anxiety that builds up into a sexual tension between its two lead actresses, then it rattles the cage by metamorphosing its tension into a completely different tension during its climax. The play-out is an ingenious magic trick. The film follows Thomasin McKenzie as a young clerk for a boy's prison, who is also socially isolated woman who cares for her alcoholic father while lusting for a physical relationship. She then meets the facility's new psychologist, Anne Hathaway, who she begins to admire to the point of fawning over. The pair's relationship ultimately collides in an unexpected way, which is probably best to keep mum about to not hurt the experience. But the movie is quite the examination of a isolated woman's hopeful fantasies of longing, as we see the majority of the film play out through McKenzie's eyes, with the added flavor of little fantasies of what she feels in the moment. It also occurs to me that it also makes her something of an unreliable narrator, because I do find myself pondering of how much of the little moments of her romance with Hathaway were just something that played out in her head or a detail that she blew up through her heavy infatuation. There is an element of both absolute certainty and anxiety-fueled uncertainty that most romantic tension feeds on, only dialed to 11 and creating a thick atmosphere of what Hathaway's intentions really are. And when Hathaway does walk at a crossways with McKenzie, it's not to the path you'd expect it to. Or even another path you'd expect it to, as manipulation is kept to a minimum with this movie. Everything except McKenzie's mind is pretty straightforward. It's just a matter of weeding out what is fact and what is emotion.</div><div><br /></div><div>My one main criticism holding me ever-so-slightly back with this movie is that while I did love how the climax they went for was executed, it does feel on the slight side. I understand why the movie felt this was the ending it needed to go for, as well as the movie's desire to not make everything clean. That being said, the ambiguity and lack of closure on certain elements does make the film more frustrating than it should be when it ends. I felt hungrier for something more weightier, whereas instead the film finds a journey's end and just floats away. It's not enough for me to reconsider calling this one of the best movies of the year, though it does sink the film lower that it probably could have been if it really nailed an ending to remember.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhH_-P2hQiwy6Bv8EGk7jzfCxMHuF3oSupoWmDAj9aGZJjUwQFD_e1uQMTWoEzmCP0Jc6_3elGo0BVQ-AGIuZR8hq6XR1bdxQ9OA2eNxqEt9jJ5JuVnBKP_Dsl6v61kqcMSvBGsKDWep4_uTsaSJxi8NCUAbSY9rW1tnGCaM-ii_docLRCWrrJsclXFZu/s600/MV5BMzk3OTYzMGMtMmJkZC00ZmEyLWI3ZDMtMWI4NGFiOTU4MzAzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhH_-P2hQiwy6Bv8EGk7jzfCxMHuF3oSupoWmDAj9aGZJjUwQFD_e1uQMTWoEzmCP0Jc6_3elGo0BVQ-AGIuZR8hq6XR1bdxQ9OA2eNxqEt9jJ5JuVnBKP_Dsl6v61kqcMSvBGsKDWep4_uTsaSJxi8NCUAbSY9rW1tnGCaM-ii_docLRCWrrJsclXFZu/s320/MV5BMzk3OTYzMGMtMmJkZC00ZmEyLWI3ZDMtMWI4NGFiOTU4MzAzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />The Oath</b></div><div>⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Faith, Adventure, Romance</div><div>Director: Darin Scott</div><div>Starring: Darin Scott, Billy Zane, Nora Dale</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YpEHhGjQPH4" width="320" youtube-src-id="YpEHhGjQPH4"></iframe></div><br />A lot of movies these days open with a small message from people who worked on them thanking the audience for supporting theaters and hoping they enjoy the movie. The Oath starts with the director and star bragging about how good his movie is. That's when you know this movie is going to suck.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Oath is a movie made by people with promising technical skill who are trying to turn the script and resources of a direct to video Scorpion King sequel into the Braveheart of religious romances. The attempt being made is to turn a Mormon tale into an epic period drama, telling the story of Mironi, who is being hunted by ruthless king Billy Zane, marries a woman from Zane's harem, and in turn teaches her "the oath" of his religion. You can see the passion on camera in this movie. I have no doubt the people who made it were trying their damnedest (except maybe Billy Zane, who is doing the same paycheck performance that he's been doing in a lot of movies of this ilk). That makes it a more admirable attempt than a few religious movies I've seen this year, because like Journey to Bethlehem or Jesus Revolution (which are probably the two religious movies to watch in 2023 if you're going to watch any), it's a movie that feels like it's celebrating its faith instead of pandering to a pre-sold audience with some bullshit. And kudos for being a Mormon movie. Not sure I've seen many of those. I saw a western centered on Joseph Smith once, and that was about it. The Oath taxes itself, though. It doesn't have the money to be the movie that it thinks it is, and even if it did, the thick melodrama of it all would likely be a deathwound. Writer/Director/Producer/Star Darin Scott has gone full Kenneth Branagh in control freak mode and is so elbow deep in his own artistry that he's not seeing the hammy misfire that he's creating. Sometimes one's personal certainty can keep you blind to what l's quality and what's insufferable.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4CXE8fjxp9JAHt_aTIl806UbcyV5Mihkc_59xCymJt60eqPxZcQL-yStOKZzTwaAGVjHTHHNq8BKI9czE2LllIoXGlzLZ26Ypfbjc3rwIJ8wGCsL4P6Q-JaUyI-7U2pEn4owUItbnxjeJsvjGK_zU0KU0v8Sf8NIGBJ2V7koLXrzRiO0zczPNqVj-yFZ/s1481/MV5BMzljN2I3ZTUtZjBmYy00ZmExLWFkN2UtOTk4YzE3OTc1MzBiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjgxODk1MTM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4CXE8fjxp9JAHt_aTIl806UbcyV5Mihkc_59xCymJt60eqPxZcQL-yStOKZzTwaAGVjHTHHNq8BKI9czE2LllIoXGlzLZ26Ypfbjc3rwIJ8wGCsL4P6Q-JaUyI-7U2pEn4owUItbnxjeJsvjGK_zU0KU0v8Sf8NIGBJ2V7koLXrzRiO0zczPNqVj-yFZ/s320/MV5BMzljN2I3ZTUtZjBmYy00ZmExLWFkN2UtOTk4YzE3OTc1MzBiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjgxODk1MTM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Fallen Leaves</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Aki Kaurismäki</div><div>Starring: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/usReZGPdlsA" width="320" youtube-src-id="usReZGPdlsA"></iframe></div><br />This Finnish romance can be best described as an ode to the unlucky lonelyheart, telling the story of two middle-aged people who work slight remedial jobs, indulge in their own vices, but long for just a hopeful connection as they meet and profess a desire to maybe get closer. But there are hurdles. Some are personal, and some are just bad luck. It's not a traditional romance of wooing and sexiness, as our leads are a pair who have long since settled into solitude and present themselves cautiously, often resulting in awkward silence, but with hopeful glances of optimism. The movie can feel bluntly real, but is also dryly funny at times, so there is a light sense of spunk to its dramatic sincerity. I think the movie leaned a bit into tropes in some areas, but it's a solid drama for those looking for a good foreign import.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Dream Scenario</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Godzilla Minus One</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Marvels</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Saltburn</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">The Shift</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/12/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-48.html">Silent Night</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">Journey to Bethlehem</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-26.html">Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wYmtRhKvmVE" width="320" youtube-src-id="wYmtRhKvmVE"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-90476778912707197622023-12-04T07:25:00.000-07:002023-12-04T07:25:10.314-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 48 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><b><div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRteUB5AywnI3t2_TDDExWEVcw5bvIDRz-Uj-VkmD_Jswubna6y533n_fdNrqjKe6jvOwzQ_-02KJvdfddZ7a8V2EKtUC_pjNU1qWm5c9Df-HMiH1axuGjvvNt8IxZy73os1EklGCcGaBHlwp5iNApWVijmWpps21MAdCwf45GuVBGklpTg56-ua2DNOD/s1481/MV5BYzgwN2Y1MzUtZmRkMS00ZTZjLTlkODgtYWQ2ZGMwMTRlNzVmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDA4NzMyOA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRteUB5AywnI3t2_TDDExWEVcw5bvIDRz-Uj-VkmD_Jswubna6y533n_fdNrqjKe6jvOwzQ_-02KJvdfddZ7a8V2EKtUC_pjNU1qWm5c9Df-HMiH1axuGjvvNt8IxZy73os1EklGCcGaBHlwp5iNApWVijmWpps21MAdCwf45GuVBGklpTg56-ua2DNOD/s320/MV5BYzgwN2Y1MzUtZmRkMS00ZTZjLTlkODgtYWQ2ZGMwMTRlNzVmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDA4NzMyOA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Dream Scenario</b><div><b>⭐⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Comedy, Fantasy</div><div>Director: Kristoffer Borgli</div><div>Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q3x9iUL-74w" width="320" youtube-src-id="q3x9iUL-74w"></iframe></div><br />Off-beat comedy sees Nicolas Cage play a mundane college professor who suddenly becomes a figure that appears in people's dreams around the world, becoming an accidental celebrity overnight and buckles under his sudden fame. Dream Scenario ponders quite a bit through its premise, like subliminal influences and the fragile and often erratic nature of fame. Cage's character is not someone who really aspires to be seen, though he does appreciate acknowledgment. At first, he thinks it's a bit of a treat, but like a lot of things that are constantly in the spotlight, things tend to go sour. It's not explicitly stated in the film, but his demeanor in the dreams changes depending on his mental state. When he's ignorant of it, he does nothing in the dreams. When he's intimate with his wife, he starts hearing of more sexual encounters. When he starts growing irritated, he becomes hostile in them. How the public perceives him shifts depends on how he handles himself, but for someone so unprepared for attention, things grow out of hand. The film becomes a commentary on the scrutiny that comes with celebrity, when everything someone does is followed so closely that just something as simple as normal human emotion can be seen as an extreme that must be judged. The movie gives the audience a surprising amount to chew on, though my one issue being that it's probably not memorable enough to keep these ideas in my head. But in the moment, it was interesting to think about.<br /><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqYtKJfX6-S2RxbLfY0U2zu6I7ODUFpTVkH6iX78YkI5UU9BWxhO-ct2BqdR1W2mSfVBx-B9Xbx6AmFkFx3RjKok9vvPme37rpxxu8FSrZHROlKMSKESVQvlbJla4VTj18_jNlfI-ysUYuSiAvPi9SryoW9qH4CraYTzhANma7a5CG3NJ3Df06NLHp0kj/s1200/MV5BNjczNTJkMjctOGYwMS00OGIyLTg5ZjUtMTQwMGM3NjMzMzJmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTE0MzQwMjgz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqYtKJfX6-S2RxbLfY0U2zu6I7ODUFpTVkH6iX78YkI5UU9BWxhO-ct2BqdR1W2mSfVBx-B9Xbx6AmFkFx3RjKok9vvPme37rpxxu8FSrZHROlKMSKESVQvlbJla4VTj18_jNlfI-ysUYuSiAvPi9SryoW9qH4CraYTzhANma7a5CG3NJ3Df06NLHp0kj/s320/MV5BNjczNTJkMjctOGYwMS00OGIyLTg5ZjUtMTQwMGM3NjMzMzJmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTE0MzQwMjgz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Godzilla Minus One</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction, Disaster</div><div>Director: Takashi Yamazaki</div><div>Starring: Ryunosuki Kamaki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VvSrHIX5a-0" width="320" youtube-src-id="VvSrHIX5a-0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>(Godzilla is my favorite movie franchise, so this is going to be longer than my normal entries, which I try to normally keep tight and concise, but I have opinions and you have to listen to every single one of them)</div><div><br /></div><div>It's like the people who made Godzilla Minus One heard some nerd make the oft repeated sentiment that nobody sees a Godzilla movie for the human characters, and they decided to respond "Challenge accepted."</div><div><br /></div><div>Considering this is yet another Godzilla origins tale that comes seven years after we got the last one with Shin Godzilla, which came two years after the one before that with Godzilla 2014, Godzilla Minus One can feel a bit superfluous in concept. The movie actually has a interesting little history to it how it came to being. Minus One was directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who, back in 2007, he directed the sequel Always: Sunset on Third Street 2. The film opened with a pretty great, if limited, dream sequence that was made mostly with CGI, featuring the cast in a Godzilla rampage. The sequence was so well received that Yamazaki had been in-demand to helm a new Godzilla movie for a while now, and, apparently, he had even been asked to do it, but turned it down because he didn't feel Japan's CGI industry was up to the task yet. He felt more encouraged to develop his own Godzilla film after seeing the effects work in Shin Godzilla, which looked photorealistic during its best moments. He hammered out the screenplay for the film during a lengthy development process during lockdown in the Covid pandemic.</div><div><br /></div><div>The resulting film that seems like the Godzilla fanbase has been waiting fifteen years for takes the franchise back to its World War II roots, which is welcome, because while Godzilla's relevance to generations since has evolved (from Captain Planet pollution fighter to angry souls of fallem military), his original themes always suited him best. This film even takes things a step further, setting the film in the 1940's instead of the 50's, where the original Godzilla film was set. This also makes the movie the only real period piece of the Godzilla franchise, unless one counts the time travel sequence in 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. The film centers on a disgraced kamikaze pilot who fled the line of duty in a doomed mission at the end of the war. While contemplating his own self-preservation while his colleagues all died for the mission, he finds himself in a face-to-face encounter with a giant lizard, that also kills the soldiers around him while he chooses to save his own life. Returning home, he tries to rebuild his life with an accidental family that he creates along the way with fellow refugees. Several years later, the lizard he encountered, now mutated and much larger from the nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll, appears in Japan and wrecks havoc. Now with friends and family to protect, he finds that he has something to fight for and maybe something to die for.</div><div><br /></div><div>Character pieces are not the Godzilla franchise's strong point. Like most disaster movies, the franchise is more plot-driven than not, as it's hard to be character-driven when your characters can't really do much to influence the actions of something much bigger than they are (and when it does, it's usually through a silly plot device, like the Orca machine from 2019's King of the Monsters). Minus One's characters are the focal point of this particular film, as it's more interested in telling a story about regret and loss than the story of a giant lizard stepping on people. This approach ties in so well with the original themes of Godzilla, as we start out with characters who are at their lowest point, having to cope with living in actual ruins. The film turns into a thematic metaphor for the rebuilding: as Tokyo rebuilds itself, we see our protagonist rebuild his own life, creating something lovely with a woman who lost her family in the air raids and a baby who likewise lost her parents, becoming a family of three unrelated people who love and depend on each other. This is a beautiful addendum to the war-horror themes of the franchise, showcasing the way life can emerge victorious like a flower blooming out of a world covered in ash. This story is the most intimate storyline in the franchise's history and may even bring a few tears out of its audience.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the Godzilla side of things, while the CGI creature chaos doesn't reach the best moments of Shin Godzilla, it also doesn't reach Shin's worst moments of "Okay, look, we had a time crunch" either. The movie's effects work is steady and consistent, and it does look stylish and engrossing even if it rarely looks entirely realistic. Godzilla spends most of his time in the water, only coming to shore for a prologue opening and his centerpiece Ginza attack. Other than that, we spend a lot of time in boats chasing the creature down and coming up with ways to kill him, kinda like Jaws but with Godzilla. The sea-faring stuff is fun, throwing in some some of the more entertaining elements from 1955's Godzilla Raids Again to hit those high-notes of man vs. monster action.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a caveat to this, and while it isn't movie-breaking, it does make the film feel less than it probably could be. While the film's focus on human characters and compelling drama is to be commended, Godzilla does come off as an incidental nuisance rather than something that needs to be in the movie. Plotwise, Godzilla is used as something left over from the war that is haunting our protagonist, and he is primarily a device to tear down his built life to propel him into being the soldier that he never had the courage to be, while also driving him to have the internal conflict of dying in war to save his family versus fleeing war to continue to be with his family. Godzilla could be replaced in this movie with probably a half-dozen other plot devices and the film wouldn't be much different. The movie even seems like it was written in case erasing Godzilla from it entirely would be necessary for whatever reason, as the creature seems to hold little relevance to anybody else (even when he's destroying the city) than our main character. There are moments in the film where he relates the trauma of his past to other people, often casually mentioning a fire-breathing dinosaur and moving on, with supporting cast giving very little reaction to it when they really should be responding with "Wait, hold on, back it up. I'm sorry that happened to you, but what's this noise about a monster?" Godzilla still works in the narrative because his traditional echos-of-war themes keep him just relevant enough, but that's through the legwork of other movies in this franchise, particularly the original, and not this one in general.</div><div><br /></div><div>But that almost feels like a trivial thing to be troubled about when faced with a monster movie that is this good. Godzilla Minus One is easily the best film of Godzilla's resurgence since 2014 (Shin Godzilla fans might throw a tantrum about that, but Minus One is a better laid out movie from top to bottom). Hell, it's easily the best Godzilla movie in twenty-five years. Some might even claim it's the best since the original and it would be hard to argue with. I'd even say it's not outside probability that some might prefer it to the original, though my argument in the original's favor is that it's a more completely balanced movie with all of its elements in place while Minus One is a great movie that is missing just a couple of them to make it function a little less efficiently. But whatever side of the spectrum a Godzilla fan may fall on, there is really no going wrong with either.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsH1hDIKQDWVv9FPE0O0kPhx0KTC6resJUn1PWl7FTyTa03AK7nDad2glqfr60v7u-RYBP5YG5fHvh1d-qb3uXX6XQC5EsaGtCXHVxSsXOYk3HVCbGdzGySK49X95qB3D8muBoJPs6fFBqfRUqZeBPiWBCntLdNc5qEbxuiSUaPMzI03S-vwp-UW8hdlpm/s1481/MV5BYThkZWM2NGItNTNiNy00ZjQxLWFjZGUtMDMxN2JmOTI0NmIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzc0MTgzMzU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsH1hDIKQDWVv9FPE0O0kPhx0KTC6resJUn1PWl7FTyTa03AK7nDad2glqfr60v7u-RYBP5YG5fHvh1d-qb3uXX6XQC5EsaGtCXHVxSsXOYk3HVCbGdzGySK49X95qB3D8muBoJPs6fFBqfRUqZeBPiWBCntLdNc5qEbxuiSUaPMzI03S-vwp-UW8hdlpm/s320/MV5BYThkZWM2NGItNTNiNy00ZjQxLWFjZGUtMDMxN2JmOTI0NmIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzc0MTgzMzU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />The Shift</b></div><div>⭐</div><div>Genre: Science Fiction, Faith</div><div>Director: Brock Heasley</div><div>Starring: Kristoffer Polsha, Niel McDonough, Elizabeth Tabish, Rose Reid, John Billingsley, Paras Patel, Jordon Alexandra, Sean Astin</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tl7rtMiOrvY" width="320" youtube-src-id="Tl7rtMiOrvY"></iframe></div><br />Multiverses are hot lately, what with Everything Everywhere All at Once winning Best Picture, the MCU deep diving into it, and this year's Across the Spider-Verse making a one-movie art gallery out of the concept. Now faith filmmaking wants in on the action.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, I feel <i>so</i> blessed.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Shift revolves around some dude who has been "shifted" out of his dimension to an authoritarian dimension ruled by Neil McDonough, who I guess is supposed to be the Devil. Anyway, Devil McDonough recruits this guy in every dimension for...reasons. What he needs this dude for is unclear, but this guy turns him down and gets trapped in an alternate reality, trying to find a way to get back home. It's like Sliders if they were flung through the multiverse by the Devil for shits and giggles, prayed for a portal to other dimensions, and preached the word of God in every universe they visit. I'll give this movie credit for one thing, it's a rare religious movie that shows faith and science working harmoniously instead of being polar opposites at war with each other. The movie works itself earnestly to try and make something out of itself too. It just doesn't. It's a cluttered mess of the movie that wants to deliver a message of one's faith being tested that's bloated by an overly complicated premise that it doesn't even try to do justice to because it's gaslighting its religious audience. On top of that, the themes of faith are undercut because of its complicated storyline. What the movie ambitions is to be a modern day spin on a trials of faith tale, where one goes through hardship and finds his own faith to be the guiding light in his darkest hour, using sci-fi to achieve means to an end, without finding a way to make the sci-fi and fantasy actually mesh together rather than be just two separate things happening simultaneously. I almost consider giving this movie extra credit for its effort, especially as it doesn't get as condescending and intolerant as a faith/genre mesh can be (see: Nefarious), but the the unfortunate truth is that while it's a non-vindictive bad movie, it doesn't save it from being a bad movie.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid53Q-FFjozYX0nRs5mJYBtPJeocxyemLgA9L6_tLgeXcb04LGVryqp3r4zlQiUcBq0s7nzqek4rqEHsI5Q4JagIetxRycXTWtRo2l9xjm_BIsDj_0Lv8WbiVTBA5zXJY2IRPOrMsmKoI6tLMje08PYKURmJY9ojRbb69QauPIPCwYIrHHa5V0G5pArnJ7/s3000/MV5BN2ZjNDg4ZGQtZTY4NC00MWVmLTk4ZmEtYjc1NWRkZWRjMWUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjM4NTM5NDY@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid53Q-FFjozYX0nRs5mJYBtPJeocxyemLgA9L6_tLgeXcb04LGVryqp3r4zlQiUcBq0s7nzqek4rqEHsI5Q4JagIetxRycXTWtRo2l9xjm_BIsDj_0Lv8WbiVTBA5zXJY2IRPOrMsmKoI6tLMje08PYKURmJY9ojRbb69QauPIPCwYIrHHa5V0G5pArnJ7/s320/MV5BN2ZjNDg4ZGQtZTY4NC00MWVmLTk4ZmEtYjc1NWRkZWRjMWUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjM4NTM5NDY@._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Silent Night</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Action</div><div>Director: John Woo</div><div>Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres, Catalina Sandino Moreno</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yBnTqn0lBDA" width="320" youtube-src-id="yBnTqn0lBDA"></iframe></div><br />John Woo returns to Hollywood after all these years to make sure his last American film wasn't Paycheck starring Ben Affleck (or that terrible pilot for a Lost in Space series he made for the CW) with a rather simplistic revenge flick with a pantomime twist. Joel Kinnaman, who may or may not have been one of the non-Peter Weller RoboCops at one point in his career, plays a father who loses his son to gang violence at Christmas, as well as his vocal chords. He then preps for the next year to retaliate the following holiday. Thrills, chills, and bloodspills ensue. The film is made mostly without dialogue, like No One Will Save You, though less inspired with its execution. Sometimes it will stretch to make the format work, and sometimes it will use dialogue for light exposition, but not directly. Otherwise, it's a pretty well oiled machine of an action flick with Woo's sweet cinematic flair. It's probably not going to go down as a holiday themed action classic like Die Hard or Lethal Weapon, but as a work of stylized violence, there are admirable attributes to it that make it worth taking a look at its craft. Woo has always been an action movie technician, some movies just display that better than others. This one is nothing but that, so we might as well take it in.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgCSKk1gY5biGQER3x9yDh6jnyTzwmQyAqlAq7lJgxmy0p0jkPv_ru4es2AJjXRCq9_shyw_jDWXHlwShmX5nBXvtCHFYLKnlWFpJwUaQ3LZ73PZ0M7GTXf68gOLmLG71d8zIrwYI6-0tiJ0_i4RYCkZJdc289xc7JXmNoRIYlNOh-uS_kytTvWCidM-c/s1481/MV5BMTU3MWYzNzEtZmYwNS00ZjhjLTljMTQtYzk5NTk1ZTJkYTZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgCSKk1gY5biGQER3x9yDh6jnyTzwmQyAqlAq7lJgxmy0p0jkPv_ru4es2AJjXRCq9_shyw_jDWXHlwShmX5nBXvtCHFYLKnlWFpJwUaQ3LZ73PZ0M7GTXf68gOLmLG71d8zIrwYI6-0tiJ0_i4RYCkZJdc289xc7JXmNoRIYlNOh-uS_kytTvWCidM-c/s320/MV5BMTU3MWYzNzEtZmYwNS00ZjhjLTljMTQtYzk5NTk1ZTJkYTZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Candy Cane Lane</b></div><div>⭐1/2</div><div>Streaming On: Prime</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Fantasy</div><div>Director: Reginuld Hudlin</div><div>Starring: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, David Alan Grier</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y9d2G3l3UO4" width="320" youtube-src-id="Y9d2G3l3UO4"></iframe></div><br />I appreciate a good attempt to think outside the box. I also appreciate grinding it out into something that works, giving the audience something that they didn't know that they would enjoy. At first glance, Candy Cane Lane feels like it could be a fun idea, as it's a weird occult-style holiday comedy starring Eddie Murphy. But given it's high concept premise and onscreen talent, I just expected this movie to be more...well, I expected it to be <i>something.</i> But it isn't, really. The film doesn't really play with its premise and as a comedy it really isn't very funny. The film has Murphy desperate to win a neighborhood Christmas decoration contest, so he buys some knockout decorations from a pop-up shop ran by elf/witch Jillian Bell. His ornaments then come to life and he must collect a series of golden rings from them to prevent being turned into a little glass figurine. It's silly, but there could be wacky hijinks if the movie was done correctly. But the hijinks are never wacky enough, nor do they ever become interesting. It's a dull plod of a movie that can't ever work up the energy to see potential in itself. And there is probably potential to be mined if it dug deep down. There's a quirky urban soul gospel tone to the movie that is interesting, but while it gives the movie <i>a</i> flavor, it's not exactly a <i>spice. </i>The movie also introduces a group of glass figurine people who are animated like they're straight out of a stop-motion Christmas special. They could be fun additions, and they're certainly big enough personalities, but nothing they do is ever funny or entertaining enough to warrant giving them screen time (even though they're arguably the most interesting thing in the movie). It's that experience that defines Candy Cane Lane, where there are ideas that could be embellished upon ignored for a general flat mundaneness. It's a movie equivalent of someone who puts on a holiday cheer face but is secretly dead inside because they just want Christmas to be over.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTkmjxcPAg-9sjZGfBH0FTxoEUhj8hsNr3iSNsTdutwQhfFwa3OZAEonKz1Qs-aOlLzDPGktkvHOghqy0IQ8sOwQJr-fAzjOZ4RBF_hJFF-lwZ-kXUq2ZAXrIKD5Fk45M84__Sd7J1wKE6WPiDrlTnNR9ResUVvEHPC9q0nq6VnZX94Lp-OmCmV_UleL6/s622/168223864_orswl4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTkmjxcPAg-9sjZGfBH0FTxoEUhj8hsNr3iSNsTdutwQhfFwa3OZAEonKz1Qs-aOlLzDPGktkvHOghqy0IQ8sOwQJr-fAzjOZ4RBF_hJFF-lwZ-kXUq2ZAXrIKD5Fk45M84__Sd7J1wKE6WPiDrlTnNR9ResUVvEHPC9q0nq6VnZX94Lp-OmCmV_UleL6/s320/168223864_orswl4.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Family Switch</b></div><div>⭐1/2</div><div>Streaming On: Netflix</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Fantasy</div><div>Director: McG</div><div>Starring: Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers, Brady Noon, Rita Moreno </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SWh4c9EVqGM" width="320" youtube-src-id="SWh4c9EVqGM"></iframe></div><br />Recently, Netflix made the announcement that they were scaling back their original content, claiming to want to focus more on quality instead of quantity. I can't get the idea out of my head that they came to this conclusion after watching Family Switch, which feels like a movie that had a script quickly skimmed and just stamped "Good Enough" and thrown into production.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film is Freaky Friday, except........no, that's it. It's just Freaky Friday. There's the added bonus that there is a father and brother thrown in as an aside to the mother/daughter body swap comedy, but the idea is exactly the same. The "Ungrateful kid"/"You don't get me, mom and dad" personality traits leading to living a day in someone else's shoes has already been done, ad nauseam. Hell, Jennifer Garner's even done a body change comedy before, and this movie even references it by name (as well as 17 Again, starring the late Matthew Perry). Credit where credit is due, if this movie has one thing in its favor, it would be its cast. Everyone is putting in some A+ work playing their dual roles (again, Garner has done one of these before, so she gets it). The movie's scripting and craftwork keeps pulling the rug out from under them and preventing them from really delivering something charming. Even if this movie is unoriginal, these actors seem like they could deliver a movie that is ten times funnier than this, but their timing is being slanted by the way the movie is put together by Terminator: Salvation director McG. If I were to guess, I think McG is pulling them back intentionally, because it feels like he wants this movie to just have the tone of a goofy holiday diversion for parents to tolerate while the kids laugh at the dog walking on hind legs or Jennifer Garner belching and farting in the middle of a business meeting. I don't think he wants this movie to venture too far outside that tone, which is a shame. Every once in a while, the cast manages to elevate a lackluster gag with a surprisingly expert delivery and actually manage to make me bark a laugh in the middle of all the defeated sighs. If only they were able to play this movie at their full capacity, maybe something could be made of it.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Marvels</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Napoleon</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Next Goal Wins</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">Priscilla</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Saltburn</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-47.html">Wish</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Freelance</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">It's a Wonderful Knife</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">What Happens Later</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">A Haunting in Venice</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t5khm-VjEu4" width="320" youtube-src-id="t5khm-VjEu4"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-78814658908078631062023-11-26T06:54:00.000-07:002023-11-26T06:54:46.711-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 47 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVt1oWGWYcaMRocd_NkspgbhhXSjQ7QDSrugO4egBz6pNK72beVhAEQwgCmDZgRcIULlTz4rcB_q-QTezfwiNT4jMy6rMhEfODyvim15Q-9un84wqHxZyupQAHrqSl5l8qK3gWqt0QIK510qfShaeGPrePfoF66wQKOx4rwbtsvMceJeyY5KJI1_eU2f8/s1482/MV5BZWIzNDAxMTktMDMzZS00ZjJmLTlhNjYtOGUxYmZlYzVmOGE4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVt1oWGWYcaMRocd_NkspgbhhXSjQ7QDSrugO4egBz6pNK72beVhAEQwgCmDZgRcIULlTz4rcB_q-QTezfwiNT4jMy6rMhEfODyvim15Q-9un84wqHxZyupQAHrqSl5l8qK3gWqt0QIK510qfShaeGPrePfoF66wQKOx4rwbtsvMceJeyY5KJI1_eU2f8/s320/MV5BZWIzNDAxMTktMDMzZS00ZjJmLTlhNjYtOGUxYmZlYzVmOGE4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Napoleon</b><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama, War</div><div>Director: Ridley Scott</div><div>Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LIsfMO5Jd_w" width="320" youtube-src-id="LIsfMO5Jd_w"></iframe></div><br />Ridley Scott returns to his Happy Place of just making a bloated historical epic that one will watch and go "Yeah, that sure was long." This one is based on the reign of Napoleon Bonapart as the Emperor of France, from leading the armies to numerous victories all the way to his exile. This Napoleon movie comes to life during the war segments, in which the various conflicts are realized with detail and excitement. Scott tries to create a through-line to the film as an unconventional love story between Napoleon and his first wife, Josephine, which seems like a nice idea, but this loosely categorized romance is so cold that while it has its interesting elements, getting swept up in it is a trial rather than an experience. Scott does use that thread to weave look at a human behind the towering reputation, and he makes no qualms about it that Napoleon was an uncouth jackass. It's something to be of two minds of, because it's easy to see what film Scott was trying to make, with solid performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, but it's one that is muted and difficult to really care about.<br /><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe3vEbiMSeWY4A-8Fcj_2y2xZ37DhZAS4r_kZgh-z31jLPlffnlGgYhEZta0xWnpyfamgmMco1VcUv8bxcmlQTvpl5h0a63rNpWNaDivewln9eT32yn8E1ovxOC9qm1DlbbNx5A1znkzN4UagDyseE825SX2erM_9gM74fVufDxqutcGA92_rWYDWAvwG/s2880/MV5BM2NmMDQ1ZWEtNDU4OS00MGIxLWEyMGMtMTM2YmFkYzNhYmMxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2880" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe3vEbiMSeWY4A-8Fcj_2y2xZ37DhZAS4r_kZgh-z31jLPlffnlGgYhEZta0xWnpyfamgmMco1VcUv8bxcmlQTvpl5h0a63rNpWNaDivewln9eT32yn8E1ovxOC9qm1DlbbNx5A1znkzN4UagDyseE825SX2erM_9gM74fVufDxqutcGA92_rWYDWAvwG/s320/MV5BM2NmMDQ1ZWEtNDU4OS00MGIxLWEyMGMtMTM2YmFkYzNhYmMxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Saltburn</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Drama, Comedy, Thriller</div><div>Director: Emerald Fennell</div><div>Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s8l0llLj1uM" width="320" youtube-src-id="s8l0llLj1uM"></iframe></div><br />Barry Keoghan plays a socially awkward boy who becomes infatuated with a wealthy student at college who invites him to his family's estate for the summer and treats him like a pet. That's just the starting point to Saltburn, which has a collected exterior but so many cranks inside of it making things more complicated. It's almost like an anxiety. The film is confident and intriguing, I'll give it that much. It's sometimes a tad bit too eager to give away its hand, and when it does finally show its cards, it feels like a partial bluff because it concludes with an ending that it has heavily alluded to but also doesn't quite make sense. But it has an interesting tone that keeps it flavorful, though it can sometimes be vain enough to admire itself when it really shouldn't. The film's enhancement of social awkwardness is so pungent that it often overwhelms the film and even its attempt at being a pressure cooker drama comes off as more awkward than Keoghan's character. There's a certain type of filmgoer who will watch this movie and find it their favorite movie of the year. There is also an audience who will just look at it and say "What the fuck?"</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5vanCcsOuJbdgSnwRY0eMNCGcu-L8Bwnw_ZoxIKyyRxDaOp1FEVhPznarbNKeqTl8mtRqrrGJIdSUH0CanGgg2MtBMFJSPtM3nUWXuu6rJFsx9vp0P6Z3Olm2iQJWfY4O7gf_3K1AEuqAJBsSbXdYta4jZfgLrP_2vRuPSDnvCVrYhakYLeusoTEEK_J/s1482/MV5BYWQ4M2ZmODItNzZhYi00MzY1LTk2ZmItYTUwODI2NzJmN2JiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5vanCcsOuJbdgSnwRY0eMNCGcu-L8Bwnw_ZoxIKyyRxDaOp1FEVhPznarbNKeqTl8mtRqrrGJIdSUH0CanGgg2MtBMFJSPtM3nUWXuu6rJFsx9vp0P6Z3Olm2iQJWfY4O7gf_3K1AEuqAJBsSbXdYta4jZfgLrP_2vRuPSDnvCVrYhakYLeusoTEEK_J/s320/MV5BYWQ4M2ZmODItNzZhYi00MzY1LTk2ZmItYTUwODI2NzJmN2JiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Wish</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Fantasy</div><div>Director: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn</div><div>Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oyRxxpD3yNw" width="320" youtube-src-id="oyRxxpD3yNw"></iframe></div><br />Simple, but likable, offering from Disney's animation studio celebrates the company's 100th anniversary with a film that paints itself with elements from much of its rich history, but also feels like a bit of a cluttered gathering. The story tells of a kingdom led by a king who keeps everyone's wish safe in his castle, but a young girl seeks to free them once she sees how much the townsfolk lost by giving them up. It's a well intentioned movie about the importance of desire, heart, and ambition, and how it's drives each of us. Recent Oscar winner Ariana DeBose sparkles in her lead role, using that singing talent she put on display in West Side Story to good use with some memorable musical numbers. If the movie fully formed around her, I'd probably be more enthusiastic about it, though she's a powerhouse standout. By comparison, Chris Pine's antagonistic king is woefully undercharacterized, as he just seems driven by wonky mood swings rather than any internal logic (and he's given a couple of forgettable power ballads that Pine just belts through). If one is familiar with Disney's film history, one can enjoy picking out the various easter eggs throughout, from supporting characters clearly based on the Seven Dwarfs to an unexpected reference to the premise of Zootopia (but I'd be more impressed if they referenced Treasure Planet). Those looking toward Wish looking for the next Encanto or Moana will likely leave disappointed, though it's a far better movie than, say, Frozen II. Those willing to let Wish be itself may find that it's pretty delightful family entertainment.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqTdCMckdaMpoeIcfa2L3xfu5Znn-aSwVlf7Yu_8ew6ymPbKdAFwjVr7Vg5nepZFmPOZdnyW7taTRv6XrSY8ivuLV1ryVHdAxFqdUjwNssUiVQdr0kMGneU3poJGuwSQmufR8d4YPtqfTn02QV3jnrnlzGrn6HrWHpTkq5x9gYUNe1pXAM1ig6MmmHQVe/s2048/MV5BM2FhZTAxNDUtZGMwMS00MmI1LTg1Y2UtZTIwMmIzNjM0YzZiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqTdCMckdaMpoeIcfa2L3xfu5Znn-aSwVlf7Yu_8ew6ymPbKdAFwjVr7Vg5nepZFmPOZdnyW7taTRv6XrSY8ivuLV1ryVHdAxFqdUjwNssUiVQdr0kMGneU3poJGuwSQmufR8d4YPtqfTn02QV3jnrnlzGrn6HrWHpTkq5x9gYUNe1pXAM1ig6MmmHQVe/s320/MV5BM2FhZTAxNDUtZGMwMS00MmI1LTg1Y2UtZTIwMmIzNjM0YzZiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Good Burger 2</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Streaming On: Paramount+</div><div>Genre: Comedy</div><div>Director: Phil Traill</div><div>Starring: Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X4zD1p8yp-I" width="320" youtube-src-id="X4zD1p8yp-I"></iframe></div><br />Appealing solely to very young children or middle-aged men of a certain generation who don't give a shit if this movie is trash or not, Good Burger 2 is a sequel to Good Burger, and a prequel to the eventual Oscar winner Good Burger 3: Return of the Burger King. This epic sequel that was twenty-five years in the making brings back the former Nickelodeon superstar alum Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell reprising their roles of fast-food employees Dexter and Ed, who are now in their late-forties and still working at Good Burger, who find their business threatened again when a conglomerate seeks to take over the restaurant and franchise it. It's an idea that's not that evil if you think about it, but only becomes backhanded because they're doing it just because they hate the joint so much (so much that they want to make more of it? Nickelodeon villain logic). So really the villain of the Good Burger movies is soulless capitalism, and the good guys are small business who fight to maintain their share of the marketplace (even though their particular building would probably never pass a health inspection). There's not a lot to say about Good Burger 2 in its defense or detriment, because I imagine most already know whether or not they're going to watch it, and if they are, they'd probably get a kick out of it. It's about as good as you can expect a Good Burger sequel to be, for better or worse. The movie is very much a Good Burger movie, albeit one that featuring men in their forties with looks of "What the hell am I even doing back here?" on their faces. It's dumb, but it's playful. These guys created a sort of wavelength of simple comedy that defined a decade of children's entertainment. If you grew up with the original Good Burger movie, All That, and Kenan & Kel and just see that poster and feel all warm and nostalgic, it might be worth a spin.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">Journey to Bethlehem</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Marvels</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Next Goal Wins</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">Priscilla</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-41.html">Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (probably)</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Thanksgiving</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-46.html">Trolls Band Together</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">The Marsh King's Daughter</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Expend4bles</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Saw X</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VvSrHIX5a-0" width="320" youtube-src-id="VvSrHIX5a-0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yBnTqn0lBDA" width="320" youtube-src-id="yBnTqn0lBDA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q3x9iUL-74w" width="320" youtube-src-id="q3x9iUL-74w"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-7521712536190869072023-11-19T07:49:00.000-07:002023-11-19T07:49:08.301-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 46 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div><br /></div><div>Slim pickings this week, I know. If only there was some major blockbuster sequel in a Hollywood franchise that came out this weekend, but, alas, there wasn't one that I saw. Nope. Not a single one. What a missed opportunity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh wait, my mistake. There is one. It's called Trolls Band Together.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEbjE8FCF_pl5FZ7nKkwsmL7oMC6C_VLKuJIOMTFJKpldBmpbVnOPzxD6pKEoFS75Ogt0y9N2ml_kjEMF8hGPRX6bZUCpmLHrZr0IZpi8SXkneBz1VxLLL9YL7-q3N33o8fXDB8Yt2mcIQtcSHNH7QL00yU49DTe48CDp9nUZNdp6M83YrRc64UvuSC4V/s2000/MV5BNDIwNWQwYTktZGQwYS00NzNjLThhNDMtODBlYmI5N2E0NjM0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEbjE8FCF_pl5FZ7nKkwsmL7oMC6C_VLKuJIOMTFJKpldBmpbVnOPzxD6pKEoFS75Ogt0y9N2ml_kjEMF8hGPRX6bZUCpmLHrZr0IZpi8SXkneBz1VxLLL9YL7-q3N33o8fXDB8Yt2mcIQtcSHNH7QL00yU49DTe48CDp9nUZNdp6M83YrRc64UvuSC4V/s320/MV5BNDIwNWQwYTktZGQwYS00NzNjLThhNDMtODBlYmI5N2E0NjM0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Next Goal Wins</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Sports</div><div>Director: Taika Watiti</div><div>Starring: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Knightly, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Elizabeth Moss, Will Arnett</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pRH5u5lpArQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="pRH5u5lpArQ"></iframe></div><br />Based on the almost inspiring story of how the American Samoa national soccer team banded together and aspired to not be the lowest ranked team in the league, Next Goal Wins stars Michael Fassbender as their temperamental coach Thomas Rogan, Kaimana as barrier breaking transgender player Jaiyah Saelua, and is directed by Taika Watiti. That last point might be what makes or breaks this film for most viewers, as he is in the middle of his career backlash phase, because he's an Oscar winner who isn't Martin Scorsese <i>and</i> has worked with Marvel Studios, therefore film bros have deduced that he must be destroyed. Next Goal Wins posted the weakest reviews of Watiti's career, and I don't necessarily know if that's anything substantial (I haven't seen every Watiti film, okay?), but the film is entertaining, if uneven. Watiti does have vices, and he loves to indulge in them. Sometimes to the detriment of the movie he's making, as he'll take away from a movie's structure, pacing, and substance for a sudden burst of silliness. Next Goal Wins suffers from a lot of that, because it often feels like its lost in the wind and it's hard to grasp its rhythm because it's opting not to have one. By the end of the movie, the story feels incomplete and we're told characters have opened up and changed without ever really witnessing it. Maybe that's because they didn't, because the achievement of the film is really just a bare minimum. These players didn't jump into the game and take it by storm. They just wanted to take a first step to not being a laughing stock. That might frustrate those hoping for a journey for these characters, but in some cases that first step is the hardest. There is a simple beauty to just having the dream of "just one goal." Next Goal Wins is a clumsy portrayal of it, but it comes close to hitting the net.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNbW1RhvuUMLt7Q0z0mWlPLgSankkQTihm6nMLyA8tl4DofnqiUc-NCt5kn9IfT6I9eYupqHqiXpz0_Cx5eimCK_QmX54e9kiPQo-VGYjm38CWAk_xqLRP0Q-nxO7QXReJwbsHR18md98XJooWMRH1z7IlJE-cy1BSfdZFO8X9szl7cNgo8_7QrBv9C6C/s1500/MV5BZmIzYzAwMzgtZWZhNi00Zjg4LTg2NzgtZmVkMmEyODlmNWI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNbW1RhvuUMLt7Q0z0mWlPLgSankkQTihm6nMLyA8tl4DofnqiUc-NCt5kn9IfT6I9eYupqHqiXpz0_Cx5eimCK_QmX54e9kiPQo-VGYjm38CWAk_xqLRP0Q-nxO7QXReJwbsHR18md98XJooWMRH1z7IlJE-cy1BSfdZFO8X9szl7cNgo8_7QrBv9C6C/s320/MV5BZmIzYzAwMzgtZWZhNi00Zjg4LTg2NzgtZmVkMmEyODlmNWI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />Thanksgiving</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Horror, Comedy</div><div>Director: Eli Roth</div><div>Starring: Nell Verlaque, Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Milo Manheim, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OHWiTwH53lU" width="320" youtube-src-id="OHWiTwH53lU"></iframe></div><br />Slowly but surely, the filmmakers who created trailers for the cult movie double feature Grindhouse are creating actual movies out of them, which has resulted in movies like Machete and Hobo with a Shotgun. Eli Roth steps up to the plate by turning his Thanksgiving trailer into a movie, which just leaves Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie to get off their asses to make this weird franchise complete. I actually have never seen Grindhouse or its associated movies, so I went into Thanksgiving very fresh faced. The premise takes place a year after a Black Friday sale left several dead and many injured, as a group of teens find themselves stalked by someone linked to the massacre. The movie would probably be nothing if it weren't for its cheekiness. It's intentionally written and presented like a second rate slasher movie from the 80's, so much so that the fact that it's a glossy, stylized movie set in the present day almost destroys it's vibe. But the movie's close mimicry of the feel of this type of movie is impressive, and the film's absurdist sense of humor just seasons it beautifully. It utilizes a lot of Thanksgiving tropes for silly themed ghoulishness, while the Black Friday opening is probably one of the most memorable uses of consumerism in horror to ever be filmed. The movie is cleverly funny in its fake sincerity, though I imagine those looking for an actual slasher movie will leave it angry.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOY9nyTMgA0O7_jyv1dMA8M4cYX6RN3B-epbiKBiZt_tpTcAs6oypSvfllJeYSIjJ3DWrPIniIcruTUU1pJuEGd1dvSXsTyu8sTDogpWx9l_H8L9_HrsGXEMQethKcmeURB0_051CAtOBqtjrY__mcdfyJ86WGcDmC2G3S1WwdtBT3gHogASM0ACPucgX/s1583/MV5BMTY4MDk2YWUtNWY1My00YjAxLWI4ZGQtMmRhN2FiNDI4NDRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1583" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOY9nyTMgA0O7_jyv1dMA8M4cYX6RN3B-epbiKBiZt_tpTcAs6oypSvfllJeYSIjJ3DWrPIniIcruTUU1pJuEGd1dvSXsTyu8sTDogpWx9l_H8L9_HrsGXEMQethKcmeURB0_051CAtOBqtjrY__mcdfyJ86WGcDmC2G3S1WwdtBT3gHogASM0ACPucgX/s320/MV5BMTY4MDk2YWUtNWY1My00YjAxLWI4ZGQtMmRhN2FiNDI4NDRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br />Trolls Band Together</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Musical, Fantasy</div><div>Director: Walt Dahm</div><div>Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Amy Schumer, Camilla Cabello, Eric André, Troye Sivan, Kid Cudi, Daveed Diggs, RuPaul, Andrew Rannells, Zosia Mamet</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftUpFjGKuY0" width="320" youtube-src-id="ftUpFjGKuY0"></iframe></div><br />I'm not sure if I ever saw the first Trolls movie in its entirety. I know I've seen parts of it, and I do know that the second one was one of the first movies I saw in theaters when they briefly reopened in 2020 during the pandemic, and while I wouldn't call that movie great, I did have a great time watching it. Now we have a third one. Okie dokie. This one is a premise in-joke of Justin Timberlake's Troll character of whatshisname needing to rejoin his family boy band in order to rescue their fifth brother from having his talent slowly drained by a couple of talentless pop stars. But plot is beside the point, because Troll movies are more about vibe than story. It's about colorful characters singing covers of pop tunes while the animators go crazy with aesthetic choices. That aesthetic is what makes a Trolls movie a blast to watch, this one featuring a velvet Muppet land and weird Popeye-like human characters. They're hollow goofball movies full of music. Kids will have fun, adults will probably smile, get a few laughs, and probably never think about it ever again. Until the next sequel, of course.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJTit0kPs3gb3UAEDJFtvti7T0E9sRxma7ckwqZU9Bh6ruRf_9yBg0US97V5hAvgDdpzrohgt_7g53rEi1NkuUgy6aj6R6kzeztMKiXGY9HqlYWOUAI9sDsoyiy40mU-ZRC-OGaarX7LubfkfmfLDEkfU1Wg4nDZFd8H7sLCFYrKhy9pCtZfAb7BatOGk/s1482/MV5BMWJiODExMmItOTA3ZC00ZDljLWJkNDQtZjIzNmU3YTI5Y2YzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyODg5MjQw._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJTit0kPs3gb3UAEDJFtvti7T0E9sRxma7ckwqZU9Bh6ruRf_9yBg0US97V5hAvgDdpzrohgt_7g53rEi1NkuUgy6aj6R6kzeztMKiXGY9HqlYWOUAI9sDsoyiy40mU-ZRC-OGaarX7LubfkfmfLDEkfU1Wg4nDZFd8H7sLCFYrKhy9pCtZfAb7BatOGk/s320/MV5BMWJiODExMmItOTA3ZC00ZDljLWJkNDQtZjIzNmU3YTI5Y2YzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyODg5MjQw._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Persian Version</b><div>⭐⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Drama</div><div>Director: Maryam Keshavarz</div><div>Starring: Layla Mohammadi, Niousha Noor, Bijan Daneshmand, Bella Warda, Tom Byrne<br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PDrlpcv4vXE" width="320" youtube-src-id="PDrlpcv4vXE"></iframe></div><br />Influenced by writer/director Maryam Keshavarz's real life familial bonds, The Persian Version tells the story of an Iranian-American lesbian who becomes pregnant after a one-night-stand with a drag performer (yes, she knows, she's not stupid), and as she carries the baby to term, she reevaluates her relationship with her own mother. The film owes a lot to its lively presentation, with the action pausing so our main character can address the audience by breaking the fourth wall and breaking down her life ala Clarissa Explains It All. The movie is vibrantly humorous, sometimes in a carefree way that might be crossing a line (there is an early joke in the movie where the punchline is the explosion of the Challenger, which...you know, you do you movie, but I personally would have avoided that). The movie is a audacious exploration of maternity, family, heritage, and sexuality, and how messy and complicated each can prove to be. None of the relationships in this movie are simple. Not even a traditional mother/daughter relationship. There is baggage on the table, and it's a movie that takes its time unpacking it, discovering the nuances to how our characters present themselves along the way. It's a journey that starts funny and gets heavier and more dramatic as it goes. While there are imperfections along the way, the movie leads up to its final scene, which is just a simple moment between a mother and daughter and one you might have already seen coming based on how the film played out. The two have just one exchange, but based on what we discover throughout the film, it was the perfect moment in between the two that means the entire world to them and it's one that will hit its audience like an emotional truckload of bricks. It's a precision moment for a tearjerker ending that movies like this can only dream of.<br /><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36UIkmJkBnuLwPw_Ddr3Fk8frRLWmcVOAwG2RKJQdzGGmX3PhlgRD-aLjgc9HJvtFY6hMMKrjrI2PZzMD-nQbJjH1gIvFpiP3I9y4cm0AjC3l7AjpzciXR5hvdSNUHUikg70y7Udb8o_uv7OGQ1wjuUkDnpbK8yrzsA5dgfgcTHx7EMKNN9ffEqkURg0u/s1480/MV5BYzAzZDU1MjEtNjI5NS00Y2ZhLWI1MjctYTZkZDBkMjc4MDdkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDc5ODIzMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36UIkmJkBnuLwPw_Ddr3Fk8frRLWmcVOAwG2RKJQdzGGmX3PhlgRD-aLjgc9HJvtFY6hMMKrjrI2PZzMD-nQbJjH1gIvFpiP3I9y4cm0AjC3l7AjpzciXR5hvdSNUHUikg70y7Udb8o_uv7OGQ1wjuUkDnpbK8yrzsA5dgfgcTHx7EMKNN9ffEqkURg0u/s320/MV5BYzAzZDU1MjEtNjI5NS00Y2ZhLWI1MjctYTZkZDBkMjc4MDdkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDc5ODIzMw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />What Happens Later</b></div></div></div><div>⭐⭐</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Drama</div><div>Director: Meg Ryan</div><div>Starring: Meg Ryan, David Duchovny</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zceSigCGWSQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="zceSigCGWSQ"></iframe></div><br />Meg Ryan directs this adaptation of a stage play called Shooting Star, though she missed a step in not retitling it When Mulder Met Sally. The film focuses on her and David Duchovny, two former lovers who happen to bump into each other at a snowed-in airport where all flights are delayed. While waiting for their flight they discuss their past with each other, their present without each other, and what the future might bring. Ryan goes for broke on making this the most cutesy movie to ever be given an R rating. And I get it. She's <i>the</i> romcom sweetheart of the 90's (at least, when Julia Roberts wasn't hogging the spotlight). Cutesy is what she does. My reservations about What Happens Later is that maybe she's chasing the wrong rabbit down the rabbit hole. I admire Ryan's certainty of what kind of movie she wants to make, but the more she doubles down on it the more it becomes clear that the movie just doesn't work. Ryan takes an almost fantastical approach to the subject, bringing about subjects of fate while the movie's airport surrounding almost feels surrealist. The only main character besides Ryan and Duchovny is a character on the intercom, who seems to be talking to them directly, while there are other touches that make the movie feel like a fairy tale, such as the airport seemingly emptying out to the point where Ryan and Duchovny are the only characters in it (plus there is also an ad for a movie that's just simply titled "Rom Com," and I can't tell if that's adorably cheeky or just absurdly lazy). I imagine Shooting Star was a better play than What Happens Later is as a movie, because I was constantly looking at scenes that thinking they felt like they'd work better on a stage than on a screen. But what the movie does do right is that to make an audience interested in a film that's just an extended conversation between two characters, you need to have two actors who are funny and engaging, which Ryan and Duchovny are. If the movie works in any of its moments, you can thank them.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Holdovers</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (no)</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">It's a Wonderful Knife</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">Journey to Bethlehem</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-45.html">The Marvels</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">Priscilla</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-41.html">Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (probably)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-35.html">The Equalizer 3</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-36.html">The Nun II</a> ⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oyRxxpD3yNw" width="320" youtube-src-id="oyRxxpD3yNw"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LIsfMO5Jd_w" width="320" youtube-src-id="LIsfMO5Jd_w"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s8l0llLj1uM" width="320" youtube-src-id="s8l0llLj1uM"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-36706220114088764092023-11-12T07:53:00.000-07:002023-11-12T07:53:10.508-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 45 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yHbk-3nQfKoYmRL4Y4THK7WB6nauRozVh5DBm7JUzPt70OD9gocr_3JSUxuWCQEJr0bugsKQfX6SeVgbVyzhkiFMRG2NJwtnLUdo_A5fexUndf5R_xcEX_0OBcbP6sxamvAODJpD9ejr05zR0AAjWUPwgGWaxGyEj6zfxUk9Xk6AwCW-tm7oTkjP3J4j/s1481/MV5BNDc2MzNkMjMtZDY5NC00NmQ0LWI1NjctZjRhNWIzZjc4MGRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjkwOTAyMDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yHbk-3nQfKoYmRL4Y4THK7WB6nauRozVh5DBm7JUzPt70OD9gocr_3JSUxuWCQEJr0bugsKQfX6SeVgbVyzhkiFMRG2NJwtnLUdo_A5fexUndf5R_xcEX_0OBcbP6sxamvAODJpD9ejr05zR0AAjWUPwgGWaxGyEj6zfxUk9Xk6AwCW-tm7oTkjP3J4j/s320/MV5BNDc2MzNkMjMtZDY5NC00NmQ0LWI1NjctZjRhNWIzZjc4MGRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjkwOTAyMDU@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Holdovers</b><div><b>⭐⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Comedy</div><div>Director: Alexander Payne</div><div>Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph<br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AhKLpJmHhIg" width="320" youtube-src-id="AhKLpJmHhIg"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Painstakingly stylized like a high school comedy straight out of the 1970's (right down to ensuring the trailer held the same aesthetic as trailers of the period), The Holdovers sees Paul Giamatti playing a hardass teacher at a prep school tasked with looking over the group of students who are unable to return home for the holidays. The film is a more interesting creative exorcise than it is a story, as director Alexander Payne recreates a lot of flourishes with a fine attention to detail. Even the script evokes the feel of a film from the period, including their faults. The screenplay works as a bit of an allegory for holiday depression, taking a look at characters who are all feeling some lonesome blues due to one circumstance or another and coping with it however they can. But for a movie called The Holdovers, they abandon the plural of the concept quite early on to focus on bonding Giamatti with only one of his students. This is either smart, because it simplifies the film's focus, or a missed opportunity, because so many characters are dropped so suddenly that one wonders if they could have been made similar mentor connections and had made the film richer. Given what the movie did decide to go with, the movie works some successful stabs at comedy and even pretty sweet at times. Giamatti also does great work to hold this movie on his shoulders, trusting Payne to construct the rest around him. If nothing else, they're the perfect pairing for this.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFb9n_PUgf8b1xhpIh3NHBqPJxr0JrhVSLhzBM6slqVszLyQxe6NZ8P5ZGM-2A7HlXEe_zGU0ohI95PbMEjXY100FvUTc15cz4ywRIdo7PrSh3nD_pTxdpllWd7h1M9mibAJPyCU_6VkgmrM8dBOxFnuNoxNSNblk4xSlzYMNkWfNQOrXYgWbEXPbppQrD/s1500/MV5BNjM0OTYzNjQtNzk4MS00NzNhLTkzNTAtMTg3ODFmZGE3YzhmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFb9n_PUgf8b1xhpIh3NHBqPJxr0JrhVSLhzBM6slqVszLyQxe6NZ8P5ZGM-2A7HlXEe_zGU0ohI95PbMEjXY100FvUTc15cz4ywRIdo7PrSh3nD_pTxdpllWd7h1M9mibAJPyCU_6VkgmrM8dBOxFnuNoxNSNblk4xSlzYMNkWfNQOrXYgWbEXPbppQrD/s320/MV5BNjM0OTYzNjQtNzk4MS00NzNhLTkzNTAtMTg3ODFmZGE3YzhmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><b>It's a Wonderful Knife</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Horror, Comedy</div><div>Director: Tyler MacEntyre</div><div>Starring: Jane Widdop, Jess McLeod, Joel McHale, Justin Long, Katherine Isabelle, Cassandra Naud</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yLdAYrG0xo0" width="320" youtube-src-id="yLdAYrG0xo0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last month we checked Back to the Future off of the "classic movie slasher remake fad" list, and just in time for the holidays, we have one for It's a Wonderful Life. Merry Christmas, Bedford Falls!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This flick sees a teenage girl stop a masked killer one fateful Christmas Eve, then finding her a year later with her life worse for the wear. Thinking she's at the end of her rope, she makes that Jimmy Stewart wish of wanting to never be born, only to find it granted instantly. Now she's trapped in an alternate reality where she doesn't exist, and a serial killer has been roaming free for the past year. Clever ideas are implemented, but to cut to the chase, this movie isn't very good. It's script feels rough around the edges, with plot points that are clumsily executed to make the movie move faster. The movie also struggles with budget limitations, and it does the best it can with what it has to work with, though the suspense scenes suffer for the sake of keeping the movie a lighthearted goof. The thing that makes this movie worth a watch, especially if you love doofy little horror movies that lack logic, is that all of the performers are all-in on this movie. We even have some seasoned horror veterans hamming it up to give the movie some charisma, including Ginger Snaps' Katherine Isabelle, Influencer's Cassandra Naud, and Jeepers Creepers/Tusk/Barbarian's king of weird, Justin Long, giving the most off-putting performance of his career, aided by a spray-on tan, blue contact lenses, false teeth, and a bad wig. That's not even mentioning the lesser known actresses at its center. Jane Widdop is an excellent lead that works in the movie's favor even when it's at its most absurd, and even better is Jess McLeod as the town outcast who is the only one who believes her story. Widdop and McLeod's relationship in the film is the most driven aspect of it, and through them the movie builds on It's a Wonderful Life's "one life can influence everyone around them" in cute and surprisingly touching ways. The duo puts out two lovely performances that keep the movie's heart beating. I wish they were in a better movie, but it was worth the sit-down just to watch them shine.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7K3NLLMKajIJGqw9YJYCUsgj1cO5IJNUU61aEBtrNmcbzO5EZXattg_m0RTHF4_0wVgAiIROKRxrnQbBfNRgHW-jeR29iKGo4lQkDIMoEIkOXIpBSdZFS2UMIVGN-zlK9Qub0zpVOCDF9XjzntF7e_OUyvLZbrysZnvARSaKkMgO9bZueTFtbmI4INJO/s1481/MV5BZTI0NzZhOTItYzQ0Zi00MTIwLWFmZDMtNWVkZTFjNDBhZmQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNTgwMDg@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7K3NLLMKajIJGqw9YJYCUsgj1cO5IJNUU61aEBtrNmcbzO5EZXattg_m0RTHF4_0wVgAiIROKRxrnQbBfNRgHW-jeR29iKGo4lQkDIMoEIkOXIpBSdZFS2UMIVGN-zlK9Qub0zpVOCDF9XjzntF7e_OUyvLZbrysZnvARSaKkMgO9bZueTFtbmI4INJO/s320/MV5BZTI0NzZhOTItYzQ0Zi00MTIwLWFmZDMtNWVkZTFjNDBhZmQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNTgwMDg@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Journey to Bethlehem</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Faith, Musical</div><div>Director: Adam Anders</div><div>Starring: Antonio Banderas, Fiona Palomo, Milo Manheim</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EFXcEWalXBI" width="320" youtube-src-id="EFXcEWalXBI"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This is not a recommendation for general movie-goers, but given what this movie is, if you're on the market for faith movies in general, then I'd say this is probably a must-see (unless you need the dramatic preaching to the choir, then you'd probably be better off seeing Jesus Revolution). I've seen quite a few faith movies with this cursed movie pass that I have that allows these blog entries to be possible, and a lot of them are complete garbage. Many of them I don't know what they are going in. Some are more obvious, and I don't always see because some week's I'm like "I just can't." Journey to Bethlehem is a title that had full clarity to what audience it was made for, and I did give it a little consideration to...just not. While I, personally, probably would have treasured sleeping in more than seeing this movie, I'm a little glad I did give this movie a chance during the same year I saw a dumpster fire like Southern Gospel, because if I am going to see a faith movie, I'd much rather it be this.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film is the story of Mary and Joseph's romance and the Nativity told as a pop artist Christian Rock opera. And if it weren't already clear enough, the movie is a total cornball. It's drama can be hammy and its comedy broad and silly. I feel in my gut that the intent of the movie was to tell this story like a 90's Disney Renaissance flick. At least, to the best of their ability. There are limits to what they can do, and it's hard to do catchy musical numbers through gospel. They give it their best go, though, even if it results in anachronistic silliness most of the time. It's a movie that takes its knocks on the chin, but stands proudly with its faults without care of being judged. It just wants to exist as a wholesome entertainer for Christian families. If your Christian faith is an important part of your life and are looking for something faith-affirming to watch with your kids (who aren't ready to see how brutally this child is going to get killed in the gritty sequel, Passion of the Christ), this is probably going to be your favorite movie of the year.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTX6JQeKhSxg-Nqyp0WWT1b-fM8bxTToAWPiScrZUR9KCHhhLYoN_iVw1BWecJ1eygkIzWh1fThk1WNFpcAPpRxuHh0NmdDDP9J5zeGXLylU-OQFjayiAXVA6E1-vE_cy_xGiKXT4N4OfP2BrgzEVEaIF8yvP8HAPZ_iNSlHkSc-L8PRZAnwK7hVBe-DCZ/s2500/MV5BM2U2YWU5NWMtOGI2Ni00MGMwLWFkNjItMjgyZWMxNjllNTMzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1688" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTX6JQeKhSxg-Nqyp0WWT1b-fM8bxTToAWPiScrZUR9KCHhhLYoN_iVw1BWecJ1eygkIzWh1fThk1WNFpcAPpRxuHh0NmdDDP9J5zeGXLylU-OQFjayiAXVA6E1-vE_cy_xGiKXT4N4OfP2BrgzEVEaIF8yvP8HAPZ_iNSlHkSc-L8PRZAnwK7hVBe-DCZ/s320/MV5BM2U2YWU5NWMtOGI2Ni00MGMwLWFkNjItMjgyZWMxNjllNTMzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />The Marvels</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure, Science Fiction</div><div>Director: Nia DaCosta</div><div>Starring: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Oman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wS_qbDztgVY" width="320" youtube-src-id="wS_qbDztgVY"></iframe></div><br />Entertaining but slight offering from the usual banger tentpole machine at Marvel Studios (I will not apologize for liking the delightfully weird Quantumania, thank you) sees Carol "Captain Marvel" Danvers' powers get entangled with Kamala "Ms. Marvel" Khan and Monica "Insert Superhero Name Here" Rambeau, causing them to switch places whenever they use them. Things go from bad to worse as the Kree begin to plunder other planets for resources, causing the three to somehow figure out a way to work in unison. Energy is high in The Marvels, which gets by with loads of charisma from its three charming leads, but that energy also leads to a certain hectic plotting, which makes the film come off more like clumsy chaos. The film isn't broken because of it, but it does feel like its lacking details that would allow more clarity. Plot points are brushed past (it almost feels as if there was a Captain Marvel sequel that wasn't made that we missed that was supposed to set this movie up), while the switching mechanic that the movie sells itself on doesn't help, as it becomes difficult to keep track of who is where and where the stakes are at because of it. But it's a fun idea, and there's a wild movie at its core. It feels compromised away from the movie it should have been, though.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zDEy6iaj7160kNgTyON-hcBQjAWpjiH2o2qy4sKScxXfSHCtDfs0pccVzfhSSereVExkqU_5fA0QnSy3TQ7NMstkG7_1vbQlEm2DM9IjhKTjNVjb7cQIxHDZ0uyO__Z3OJpE_tbsdtP-Ev-rD6Tb6ga8mPXoNKcwZ6W85CMTv5-sjNcse7wul5oPVQJ6/s1481/MV5BZGJkMDUwZWQtYTMzMS00NTg5LWE1ZTYtOTVhMDI4NGI1YjMyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zDEy6iaj7160kNgTyON-hcBQjAWpjiH2o2qy4sKScxXfSHCtDfs0pccVzfhSSereVExkqU_5fA0QnSy3TQ7NMstkG7_1vbQlEm2DM9IjhKTjNVjb7cQIxHDZ0uyO__Z3OJpE_tbsdtP-Ev-rD6Tb6ga8mPXoNKcwZ6W85CMTv5-sjNcse7wul5oPVQJ6/s320/MV5BZGJkMDUwZWQtYTMzMS00NTg5LWE1ZTYtOTVhMDI4NGI1YjMyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>The Killer</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Streaming On: Netflix</div><div>Genre: Thriller</div><div>Director: David Fincher</div><div>Starring: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5S7FR_HCg9g" width="320" youtube-src-id="5S7FR_HCg9g"></iframe></div><br />"If I'm effective, it's because of one simple fact: I. Don't. Give. A. Fuck."</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, that makes two of us.</div><div><br /></div><div>David Fincher's latest sees Michael Fassbender play an assassin who goes on a revenge-spree after a botched job where, after his lengthy preparation method, he accidentally shoots a dominatrix in the ass. Which is actually a really funny plot point if you think about it. What kills me in particular is that it takes twenty minutes leading up to that point, where we just watch him wait, while he drives us mad with psychobabble narration, then the whole thing is spoiled by a booty in latex. That's very much intentional, because the entire point of the sequence is to envelope the audience in Fassbender's patent method. That's fine and dandy. It's not interesting though. It's derivative and dull. He's a perfectionist. I get it. I don't need to hear his repetitive thought-mumble saying the same thing in different variations for a full third of an hour. And some of it is just nonsense as well. One of his first thoughts after his plan goes wrong is "What would John Wilkes Booth do?" He'd scream "Sic semper tyrannis!" to a room full of people anyway? The man wasn't a professional assassin, he was someone who busted in and created a scene to make a political statement. Why is he this guy's measuring stick? The movie just kind of trudges along from there, always trying to play it cool, but never actually doing anything worth watching. I assume we're supposed to be invested in the calculated method in which Fassbender does his business, but it all just feels like variations on scenes we've already seen earlier in the film. And even still, he has several methods that are just eye-rolling. He goes by several obvious aliases that are derivative of classic sitcom characters, which I think is supposed to be humorous but just kind of sucks. A man who is supposed to be a ghost using names from pop culture is a method of standing out when his effort is trying to lie low. It's the sign of a carefree uncreative mind when he's supposed to be meticulous and careful. David Fincher knows how to make a solid thriller; he has many under his belt, and I have no doubt he'll have more in the future. While The Killer has that Fincher flair, it's not exciting and there is nothing to latch onto. Like the main character of the film, he just had a misfire. Something that went wrong. He'll probably bounce back.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Anatomy of a Fall</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Freelance</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">A Haunting in Venice</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">The Marsh King's Daughter</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/11/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-44.html">Priscilla</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-41.html">Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (probably)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Dicks: The Musical</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Dumb Money</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-32.html">Gran Turismo</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">The Miracle Club</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftUpFjGKuY0" width="320" youtube-src-id="ftUpFjGKuY0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pRH5u5lpArQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="pRH5u5lpArQ"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OHWiTwH53lU" width="320" youtube-src-id="OHWiTwH53lU"></iframe></div></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-13261040459569694602023-11-05T07:48:00.000-07:002023-11-05T07:48:27.889-07:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 44 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1r-jKJQ_-M9jUJX-_lP1L8uJzoRn7l-ZKmrHBcquDmFHmwz8XaT70yNGPO-OttFCLqz_LsU3QsXYd1OLR8f0w0Gts24aODE1QJlS1dQWeVuA43diqtteUBVtt9JiznCtzzg4_DKYgknnwIoO66xdwYXWPj5kEnTZKZGY9RqAHPZRxPHTfkNGIfJzTlYNd/s741/divinity-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1r-jKJQ_-M9jUJX-_lP1L8uJzoRn7l-ZKmrHBcquDmFHmwz8XaT70yNGPO-OttFCLqz_LsU3QsXYd1OLR8f0w0Gts24aODE1QJlS1dQWeVuA43diqtteUBVtt9JiznCtzzg4_DKYgknnwIoO66xdwYXWPj5kEnTZKZGY9RqAHPZRxPHTfkNGIfJzTlYNd/s320/divinity-movie-poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Divinity</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Science Fiction</div><div>Director: Eddie Alcazar</div><div>Starring: Stephen Dorff, Moises Arias, Jason Genao, Karrueche Tran, Bella Thorne, Scott Bakula</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lnEbywZhLSo" width="320" youtube-src-id="lnEbywZhLSo"></iframe></div><br />A miracle drug is created that keeps people young and fit, but a pair of mysterious strangers kidnap the creator and pump his system full of it, amongst other weird shit involving sex, drugs, aliens, and hookers in leotards. It's a movie that feels like it's made by film students who find movies only worth watching if they were made by Lynch and Cronenberg and lets 80's infomercials and MTV be their entire vibe (while even stealing the OCP logo from RoboCop to complete it). It's that vibe that the movie tries to coast on, being a product that looks cool and wants to be deciphered. I've never cared for movies like this, because while I might be visually engaged for five minutes, I find myself even more disinterested as it goes on because it becomes clear it's just style over substance. Does the movie have a point? Maybe, but probably not (the movie might be an anti-abortion/stem cell research film, but that's a whole discussion). And if it does, it prefers to get lost in its own abstract surrealism rather than...be anything. It wants you to take out of it whatever you need to. What I took out of it was some nice visuals, I got to see some boobs and a lot of butts, and there was an anime influenced stop motion sequence out of nowhere that was pretty funny, but absolutely nothing else.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9d8Fpf1caxdOwL-EjL6JHN6ln7A49KxPDI6nUs1HYmWXaU4FbI1EMhZfCni5wd6Zy-DeVAiOwKkN6D2xeKES5rOPZb-YzFnvRKUHfwuy977tTGtw8c9Ey9kuLMZpTvYM0LXVbeUkWzY1owTH0Nk8neKbdVtaY41exsWE8e0np86yGL1k97iiavrNaDRXf/s1481/MV5BMzYxMTRkOGItZWMwNy00ZGFiLTg3NDgtMzIxNWQ2M2FiMGFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDY4NjQwMTk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9d8Fpf1caxdOwL-EjL6JHN6ln7A49KxPDI6nUs1HYmWXaU4FbI1EMhZfCni5wd6Zy-DeVAiOwKkN6D2xeKES5rOPZb-YzFnvRKUHfwuy977tTGtw8c9Ey9kuLMZpTvYM0LXVbeUkWzY1owTH0Nk8neKbdVtaY41exsWE8e0np86yGL1k97iiavrNaDRXf/s320/MV5BMzYxMTRkOGItZWMwNy00ZGFiLTg3NDgtMzIxNWQ2M2FiMGFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDY4NjQwMTk@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Lonesome Soldier</b></div><div>⭐</div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Nino Aldi</div><div>Starring: Jackson Harlow, Lisa Grosjean</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lfs5nFeFxCU" width="320" youtube-src-id="Lfs5nFeFxCU"></iframe></div><br />Based upon a true story (though you wouldn't be convinced of it), Lonesome Soldier is about a man who joins the military, but returns home injured and with PTSD and learns to cope with it. It's a movie that seems to understand the presentation of a story but can't figure out how to make it function. I suspect that the movie was made by people who are stark military and veteran supporters, and they're very compelled by this man's story. Issues arise in that if his story is unique, the film sucks its uniqueness dry by blending it with ideas and methods that have been done many times over by better movies (this movie has an unironic "Unclean! I can't get the blood off my hands!" sequence). To be fair to it, it's a well-shot movie that works well with what seems to be a limited budget. But I look at this movie and feel like there is a gaze of glancing at one's own art with rose-colored glasses and refusing to see what's wrong with it. Even if this movie weren't a sappy attempt at something trite, it feels inauthentic and cynically manipulative. The acting has its moments, but it feels like there only select moments that the movie is actually invested in, and the rest of the time it's rushing through itself because, while those scenes might be necessary to advance itself, it's not invested in them. And when it is invested in itself, the just hammers the audience with a greasy melodrama that will clog your arteries. Maybe if you're invested heavily in military stories, this movie might be of interest. I just think veterans deserve something better than something this gutless.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzX8KbQoFmnz8hOfdlh0FhX0icA_7MLt_qhn3sZWUt5pLXrI6oeaw46hOiQgrQ4Dz37w3l7cRklrDbhmH5z3HS9yWavXQpSLnDhfyeK_rXmL_1bxiYc0tW8pAfj2-672j0r1nbXkMtmW63c9wzQm3hUfFLlcRQww6pIrOFVZrxqk8JkvBORqfCo8Y5uy71/s6000/MV5BNzdjNzY1OTctMWIxMS00NzA3LWExNWQtOWEyM2Q2MWRlOGFmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA2MDU0NjM5._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzX8KbQoFmnz8hOfdlh0FhX0icA_7MLt_qhn3sZWUt5pLXrI6oeaw46hOiQgrQ4Dz37w3l7cRklrDbhmH5z3HS9yWavXQpSLnDhfyeK_rXmL_1bxiYc0tW8pAfj2-672j0r1nbXkMtmW63c9wzQm3hUfFLlcRQww6pIrOFVZrxqk8JkvBORqfCo8Y5uy71/s320/MV5BNzdjNzY1OTctMWIxMS00NzA3LWExNWQtOWEyM2Q2MWRlOGFmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA2MDU0NjM5._V1_.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The Marsh King's Daughter</b></div><div>⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Thriller</div><div>Director: Neil Burger</div><div>Starring: Daisy Ridley, Ben Mendelsohn, Garrett Hedlund, Gil Birmingham, Careen Pistorious, Brooklyn Prince</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FDnUVhLMqI0" width="320" youtube-src-id="FDnUVhLMqI0"></iframe></div><br />Based on the 2017 novel (and it feels it), The Marsh King's Daughter sees Daisy Ridley as an adult woman who left an abusive and traumatic relationship with her survivalist father behind after he was arrested when she was a child, only to be haunted and hunted by him when he escapes. The film is stilted to a fault, with stiff performances that often feel like the actors have memorized their lines phonetically. The actors aren't to blame for this, because the film feels more like a dramatic reading of its novel than an adaptation of it, as each actor patiently waits their turn to speak with a mound of dialogue on the tip of their tongue. To be fair, setting aside the type of performance Daisy Ridley is asked to give in this movie, she is actually pretty good in it. Ben Mendelsohn is properly intimidating as her father, though he slips in and out of his accent pretty often. The savior of this movie actually winds up being its story, which is interesting in spite of scripting issues and uneven plotting. I was interested in Ridley's story and was invested enough to see it through to its end. I feel like The Marsh King's Daughter is going to play better with certain viewers more than others, and those viewers will likely adore it. Those viewers might be book fans, because there is a certain feel to this movie that reminds me of last year's Where the Crawdads Sing, which was loved by fans of the novel and dismissed by everyone else. I liked Marsh King a bit more than Crawdads, because Marsh King's story is a more interesting visual narrative than Crawdads, which relied more on trying to be subtle without having the patience to be. The Marsh King's Daughter is a bit corny and a bit trashy, but it knows how to use it. Like a shitty page-turner that you can't put down for some reason.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQS8zR2tw5bkkxCbr0lwvHQIo7teNu-uSBr0SkHkJyrKST7B8ybJByjE2s5XO9oEPkNTOoiemIn4_3VZXGUSIQiACnBsU9-b57XL5D8sSWPBvQBRHGHbbITcGXRW_LHlp3-WVUhJcBoe1Rz-8h7Ae7lrUMZPXWJsTf3K0E1s7sstL5XFnMarATu0FtsFP-/s1477/MV5BOTQyZTBiMjAtZTNjZi00ZjU0LWFkMTQtMDE3Nzc1MjVmMTM4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1477" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQS8zR2tw5bkkxCbr0lwvHQIo7teNu-uSBr0SkHkJyrKST7B8ybJByjE2s5XO9oEPkNTOoiemIn4_3VZXGUSIQiACnBsU9-b57XL5D8sSWPBvQBRHGHbbITcGXRW_LHlp3-WVUhJcBoe1Rz-8h7Ae7lrUMZPXWJsTf3K0E1s7sstL5XFnMarATu0FtsFP-/s320/MV5BOTQyZTBiMjAtZTNjZi00ZjU0LWFkMTQtMDE3Nzc1MjVmMTM4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />Priscilla</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Drama</div><div>Director: Sofia Coppola</div><div>Starring: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DBWk6BohVXk" width="320" youtube-src-id="DBWk6BohVXk"></iframe></div><br />In a way it's a teenage girl's fairy tale: to meet and be whisked away by the world's biggest superstar. It's also kinda weird and off-putting, watching a 15-year-old girl being courted by a man ten years her senior and one of the biggest celebrities who ever lived, plucking her pretty much straight from high school and trapping her in a celebrity whirlwind that changes her. Following last year's Academy Award nominated biopic of Elvis Presley, Sophia Coppola offers up an alternate gaze on the music icon, telling the story of his wife Priscilla and the unusual story of how he courted and borderline groomed her to be his wife (some might argue that there was no "borderline" about it). I haven't seen Baz Luhrmann's Elvis film since it came out and, admittedly, I don't remember how deep it dived into Elvis and Priscilla's relationship, though I recall it being relatively minor and dismissive. If there is any contradiction between the two, I can't really engage in that, but the depiction of Elvis between the two films is a bit startling. Last year's film focused on the showman aspect, but Coppola tells an "evil that men do" narrative, showing him as intimidating, distant, and manipulative. His relationship with Priscilla is often on his terms, as he takes a soft-spoken high school girl and molds her to be his idea of a what his wife should be, rarely allowing her to have any input into who she gets to be even when he's not around because Elvis's world revolves around him.<div><br /></div><div>Priscilla seems to intentionally choose to not have much of anything to do with what's outside of Priscilla and Elvis's love affair, which can be a bit limiting. The film abruptly starts when Priscilla is invited to a get-together being held by Elvis and it abruptly ends when Priscilla leaves her husband. It's laser focus isn't a bad thing, but it also limits it by boxing it in, with limited view of the entire picture. But it's Priscilla's movie, and what she sees is the most important to it. It might feel limited because she had a limited life within this scenario, as the film is depicting that she wasn't allowed to have one outside of her husband, while he was having an entire life without her. That aspect works because, while they're husband and wife, they never feel like they're all that close, which alludes that they're both living separately under the lie that they're together. The film reinforces that by lingering on those moments where they're tender with each other and makes them feel hollow. Interestingly, while there is quite a bit of era-setting music in this movie, there is very little actual Elvis music. Maybe that's a metaphor for how little he was in her life.</div><div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-40.html">The Exorcist: Believer</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Five Nights at Freddy's</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-43.html">Freelance</a> ⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-32.html">Gran Turismo</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">A Haunting in Venice</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Nightmare Before Christmas ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">The Other Zoey</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Saw X</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-41.html">Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (probably)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">A Haunting in Venice</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-33.html">Blue Beetle</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-35.html">The Good Mother</a> ⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-36.html">My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="https://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinemcantsa-playground-journal-2023.html">Retribution</a> ⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wS_qbDztgVY" width="320" youtube-src-id="wS_qbDztgVY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AhKLpJmHhIg" width="320" youtube-src-id="AhKLpJmHhIg"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CQtzECDIDBU" width="320" youtube-src-id="CQtzECDIDBU"></iframe></div></div></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-38086084507225922612023-10-29T08:17:00.000-06:002023-10-29T08:17:56.969-06:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 43 (My Cinema Playground)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_buqyBJEDhRs8uw5o0_FfEHAXBBAcDJ4em35v_UVTwQTcj925n02Q328ykWjh8nPOnd0DYatZT-Mfjt4u4kZsU5kh3FiQ6XPdd9K0ytvOuPOirEZFt01GQgnLr2D-4Z8U3UEx4KqFvWZc50oag3k_B5VFmYjxEpP20hVb7MpqY4R1A3kzRyEm2yG2XZp/s1583/MV5BNWI3ZmY4NmItMGQ4My00ODJlLWJlNTktYjk2NzRkODU3YTNlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1583" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_buqyBJEDhRs8uw5o0_FfEHAXBBAcDJ4em35v_UVTwQTcj925n02Q328ykWjh8nPOnd0DYatZT-Mfjt4u4kZsU5kh3FiQ6XPdd9K0ytvOuPOirEZFt01GQgnLr2D-4Z8U3UEx4KqFvWZc50oag3k_B5VFmYjxEpP20hVb7MpqY4R1A3kzRyEm2yG2XZp/s320/MV5BNWI3ZmY4NmItMGQ4My00ODJlLWJlNTktYjk2NzRkODU3YTNlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><b>Five Nights at Freddy's</b><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Emma Tammi</div><div>Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson, Matthew Lillard</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z_T0o5uNrlY" width="320" youtube-src-id="Z_T0o5uNrlY"></iframe></div><br /><div>Five Nights at Freddy's is a title I had heard over and over again without really knowing what it was. Even now, I'm only familiar with its most surface level reputation than anything specific about, that being that it's a tween-targeted jump scare horror video game series that plays off of the inherent creepiness of children's entertainment animatronics. Whether or not the movie gets anything right about it, I can't comment on. The movie centers on some guy desperate to keep a job so he won't lose his little sister in a custody battle, who takes up a job at a closed down children's restaurant where the animatronic creations come to life and murder people. The movie's charisma lies heavily in its horror elements, which have a campy delight to them. The animatronics for Freddy's gang are excellent and remarkably expressive, while the spooky atmosphere is flavorful. Unfortunately, the film falters in the scenes that nobody watching a Five Nights at Freddy's movie is particularly interested in, and that's the human element. The plight of Josh Hutcherson's character of protecting his sister tries to give the movie a heart, but he's a non-charismatic character who doesn't seem to give much effort into anything he does. He spends most of his nights at his security job asleep, which not only makes him shit at his job but also seems to miss the point of the games, which is to watch all the spooky shenanigans as they unfold . The movie is half a stylish entertainer and half the most boring movie you could have made out of this. On the bright side, it's never both at the same time.</div><div><br /></div><div>MST Cast Note: Russ Walko, who plays Growler on our favorite puppet show, worked the animatronics for the character of Foxy on this movie.<br /><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGP_ysoSnUNY7YV5Y_GzGtAG22gTkfb73eLSyNqhFCVZI8VLPzj-hkKrt9bG5YjUSHJsE52eko4PLrLi4dmVLEOmaVrd-0T3kReaXJ3cCSPZdiwbJ8HZFazP_M6aMNEhFZ36pr9w2_jjs45lRmQ-fiygNbkFsszoVwF8nJZ-hgfksmF_UpVWBkdQngNgS/s1250/MV5BZmM2ZGU1NGUtNjhiYy00YzEwLWE0MDctNGRlZmZiY2E5ZTY0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjI0NjI0Nw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGP_ysoSnUNY7YV5Y_GzGtAG22gTkfb73eLSyNqhFCVZI8VLPzj-hkKrt9bG5YjUSHJsE52eko4PLrLi4dmVLEOmaVrd-0T3kReaXJ3cCSPZdiwbJ8HZFazP_M6aMNEhFZ36pr9w2_jjs45lRmQ-fiygNbkFsszoVwF8nJZ-hgfksmF_UpVWBkdQngNgS/s320/MV5BZmM2ZGU1NGUtNjhiYy00YzEwLWE0MDctNGRlZmZiY2E5ZTY0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjI0NjI0Nw@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />Freelance</b></div><div><b>⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Action, Comedy</div><div>Director: Pierre Morel</div><div>Starring: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater, Alice Eve</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0u5E1pQK8Fc" width="320" youtube-src-id="0u5E1pQK8Fc"></iframe></div><br /><div>John Cena plays a Purple Heart military veteran who is hired by a private security firm to protect journalist Alison Brie as she interviews the foreign dictator who killed Cena's fellow soldiers years prior. They are attacked during the interview and he finds himself on the run with both his client and his enemy in a country that's in the middle of a coup. Basically, it's John Cena and Alison Brie in a comedic action romp. What could go wrong? Besides the fact that it doesn't work, that is. I wish it did, because on paper this sounds irresistible, but the screenplay lacks the good humor and the direction lacks the kinetic spirit a movie like this needs. To be fair, the action scenes are not to bad. They aren't great, but they're serviceable enough for a movie like this. It just has no gusto. The film feels underdetailed and artificial. And when the film does go for details they feel like strange, staged details, like John Cena watching embarrassing clips of Allison Brie on the internet while she's sitting right behind him, only to set up a scene of her telling him off about why she's a journalist. It's bad plotting paired with bad comedic timing sucking the blood out of this movie. Cena and Brie work their best to traverse these bumpy trails, because, as Cena says when the situation goes from bad to worse, "Embrace the suck."</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilUHfSswcV-aFMdhczvFAwFHJPrxFVDac3oDFTjVGKGoSHgx4LqwgAbSDkM1DYeWlpTgMVCfXeo24Vcy17016BYp-Lp0znBvgxF0qRtJT8H5j9KM4lnD52_83TXi4CsqTtqRMgW7jDqaFb0OiiXY3px1Iksl4vxmrJ5-JMUUrubvKoo8TUi5DT8d17_IF/s5891/MV5BZjdhNDYxMzMtMmI3Zi00ODA1LTk0ZjItZDQzZTE3YjUxZjI1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMwODE4ODI@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5891" data-original-width="4000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilUHfSswcV-aFMdhczvFAwFHJPrxFVDac3oDFTjVGKGoSHgx4LqwgAbSDkM1DYeWlpTgMVCfXeo24Vcy17016BYp-Lp0znBvgxF0qRtJT8H5j9KM4lnD52_83TXi4CsqTtqRMgW7jDqaFb0OiiXY3px1Iksl4vxmrJ5-JMUUrubvKoo8TUi5DT8d17_IF/s320/MV5BZjdhNDYxMzMtMmI3Zi00ODA1LTk0ZjItZDQzZTE3YjUxZjI1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMwODE4ODI@._V1_.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Noir</div><div>Director: Julio Soto Gúrpide</div><div>Starring: Ronny Chieng, Emily Kleimo, Jennifer Childs Greer, Rich Orlow</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OtXlekcPnmM" width="320" youtube-src-id="OtXlekcPnmM"></iframe></div><br />This Spanish produced animated children's movie parodies noir mysteries from the 1930's...you know, like every child these days loves. The film centers on a spider, the self-proclaimed greatest detective in the insect world, who finds himself on an airline where a murder of another spider occurs. The death is pinned on the victim's newlywed Black Widow wife, because of the whole "mate and kill" thing, but she maintains her innocence, and Inspector Sun seeks to find the truth behind the event. The comedy runs uneven, bordering on monotonous as the primary gag of the movie is Inspector Sun's uncanny ability to focus on the wrong detail at any given moment, and, in an Inspector Gadget fashion, have a supporting player come to the right conclusion only to have Sun take credit with his "I'm glad I thought of that" attitude. But occasionally the film caught me off-guard with a clever line that made me laugh harder than I'd expect, usually from Sun's plucky sidekick or the femme fatale Black Widow character. The animation is better than you'd expect, too. It's not crazy detailed, but the textures are rich and the character models are very expressive. It's a promising swing that unfortunately hits a foul ball.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u>Art Attack</u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVY_YZBA2oPxaFXmPOWP3HgtrzvVXzUpyOoDr-D-6WqavV-NOOVh92-wP19GwUbDDNwbTh9lg8R4D_Z_SRPeelCSKgZ3qkbeFicYqZ1vo7TCZvhZjXccbVPMTbVuEG0BHDJkpLc_f-ykUdiYr5M9SN8IE6V1sLGwp3je02vK9GGrZNrP7d1q6naebxTDAv/s1467/MV5BMDBiYmRkNjUtYzc4My00NGFiLWE2NWUtMGU1ZDA1NTQ3ZjQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1467" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVY_YZBA2oPxaFXmPOWP3HgtrzvVXzUpyOoDr-D-6WqavV-NOOVh92-wP19GwUbDDNwbTh9lg8R4D_Z_SRPeelCSKgZ3qkbeFicYqZ1vo7TCZvhZjXccbVPMTbVuEG0BHDJkpLc_f-ykUdiYr5M9SN8IE6V1sLGwp3je02vK9GGrZNrP7d1q6naebxTDAv/s320/MV5BMDBiYmRkNjUtYzc4My00NGFiLWE2NWUtMGU1ZDA1NTQ3ZjQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1NjM2ODg1._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><b>Anatomy of a Fall</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama, Legal</div><div>Director: Justine Triet</div><div>Starring:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fTrsp5BMloA" width="320" youtube-src-id="fTrsp5BMloA"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>We have another import from France this week, this one has the luxury of being half in English, so we're not constantly speeding through subtitles. It's disorienting. Pick a lane, France! Anatomy of a Fall sees a writer plunge from his attic window to his death, and his wife is indicted for murder, but maintaining her innocence and believing it to be suicide. The story, while interesting, feels secondary to the detailed portrayal of living through an event like this while then being subjected to the scrutiny of the court system. We live through the main character's heartache, the intense pressure she faces when being questioned by all sides, and the fabric of her relationship with her son being torn in two as he begins to hear details of his parents' lives that he didn't know. The film also is an incomplete picture of what actually happened, as we're led through subjective viewpoints and theories over what went down at the house that day. When the film ends, we still have questions, because all we know is what we heard in court and what her discussions are with her lawyers. There's even the lingering question of maybe she <i>did </i>kill him, but we never see her husband's death from a straight-on viewpoint or even what she was doing at the time, as the film only relates any of these events through dialogue. Is she an unreliable narrator? Who knows. That is part of the strength of the film, which paints a picture of two extremes within our head and it allows the viewer to find out which end of the spectrum the truth leans toward. The film has its own conclusion, but who's to say that it's the correct one?</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Dawn of the Dead ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Dicks: The Musical</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Dumb Money</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-40.html">The Exorcist: Believer</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">A Haunting in Venice</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>The Nightmare Before Christmas ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-42.html">The Other Zoey</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Saw X</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-41.html">Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (probably)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-40.html">The Exorcist: Believer</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-31.html">Meg 2: The Trench</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FDnUVhLMqI0" width="320" youtube-src-id="FDnUVhLMqI0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DBWk6BohVXk" width="320" youtube-src-id="DBWk6BohVXk"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-11689706641963870072023-10-22T07:54:00.001-06:002023-10-22T07:54:44.630-06:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 42 (My Cinema Playground)<div style="text-align: center;"><u>Multiplex Madness</u></div><b><div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWG3WRxX7eUaSYrUjSzbneqO04n-k88n_MUBeI33mSSKiIClcZPjJbe8kYMyEBRS_hIgpr3_ZlKK-br33NC0w5iAmRVB3EIBW4cEw5zsnjqrYl46niW0vbnvos6VY2XCHG9_ImGZRA9HyXcveK6tms3XhFvBzXnsmtL7gYlVQK4IdDptbLbYqJMF096Ab/s1689/MV5BMWIzM2FhMzktYzJjYS00NWVjLWI0ZTQtZGExZTcxZTgwNmQ3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzAxOTk1MjA@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1689" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWG3WRxX7eUaSYrUjSzbneqO04n-k88n_MUBeI33mSSKiIClcZPjJbe8kYMyEBRS_hIgpr3_ZlKK-br33NC0w5iAmRVB3EIBW4cEw5zsnjqrYl46niW0vbnvos6VY2XCHG9_ImGZRA9HyXcveK6tms3XhFvBzXnsmtL7gYlVQK4IdDptbLbYqJMF096Ab/s320/MV5BMWIzM2FhMzktYzJjYS00NWVjLWI0ZTQtZGExZTcxZTgwNmQ3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzAxOTk1MjA@._V1_.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br />Dicks: The Musical</b><div><b>⭐⭐</b>1/2</div><div>Genre: Comedy, Musical</div><div>Director: Larry Charles</div><div>Starring: Aaron Jackson, Josh Sharp, Megan Mullally, Nathan Lane, Megan Thee Stallion, Bowen Yang</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ru1qDoUeoNU" width="320" youtube-src-id="ru1qDoUeoNU"></iframe></div><br />Two identical twins who were separated at birth rediscover each other and conspire to get their parents back together in this zany musical-comedy based on an off-Broadway production. Those who love the vulgar musical sensibility that Matt Stone and Trey Parker infused into South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut will probably love the similarly styled Dicks: The Musical, but with more of a queer flamboyance. It's one of those movies that when you watch it, you'll know if you love it or not, but those who aren't into it will hate you forever for subjecting them to it. Its a production that gets away with a lot based on its gay-coded charisma, which is infectious even as it faults. Its cast is great, and every production from a queer creator either needs either Nathan Lane or at least one cast-member from Will & Grace. Dicks: The Musical has both. It's a good time for those that love cult, underground LGBTQ+ cinema. Personally, I think the film's ending is a miscalculation, because while it fits the excessive depravity of the entire film, the seemingly good-natured "love is love" message in this context is one that can very easily be distorted, twisted, and weaponized by the worst possible viewer. That's not the movie's fault, and chances are people who are likely going to take the wrong message from this movie likely won't make it that far into it, but the embracement of its own bizarreness could come back to bite both it and its community in the ass one day.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RbSbk2QS1li0u1qBSw4i_Nte2LN6xi2NTDmYuCMASgd88cYKs0JLjjkmDM20p2ldOQ8mzsLJ1cDCb0XMr-49SM9hKFnraUI74iUo2QVTIkiaBUBI7dlU0up6ZcD-maJhd5rIq3WdM78QxNVgCyoLVjOWnX2vu4GERvUcOHDsPDpoPbpjWSdMrHejYZfL/s1200/MV5BZjkyZDMxOTctYWExNC00ZDkzLThjN2ItNTI5ZTBhYTAxNDM1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTE0MzQwMjgz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RbSbk2QS1li0u1qBSw4i_Nte2LN6xi2NTDmYuCMASgd88cYKs0JLjjkmDM20p2ldOQ8mzsLJ1cDCb0XMr-49SM9hKFnraUI74iUo2QVTIkiaBUBI7dlU0up6ZcD-maJhd5rIq3WdM78QxNVgCyoLVjOWnX2vu4GERvUcOHDsPDpoPbpjWSdMrHejYZfL/s320/MV5BZjkyZDMxOTctYWExNC00ZDkzLThjN2ItNTI5ZTBhYTAxNDM1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTE0MzQwMjgz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Killers of the Flower Moon</b></div><div>⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div>Genre: Drama, Thriller</div><div>Director: Martin Scorsese</div><div>Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7cx9nCHsemc" width="320" youtube-src-id="7cx9nCHsemc"></iframe></div><br />Martin Scorsese took complaints that The Irishman was too long to heart and decided to make his next movie a full three minutes shorter. Only for this one you have to sit in uncomfortable theater seats instead of watching at home either barrelled down on your couch with a bag of Doritos on your chest or vaguely paying attention while playing on your phone, so it feels longer. Killers of the Flower Moon tells the true story of a group of wealthy Native Americans who struck oil, which in turn finds greedy white people cozying up to them and slowly killing them off to inherit their wealth over time. It's a fascinating story, one that can hold interest over it's three-and-a-half hour runtime, and the film is well constructed by a director with a rhythmic vision for it and a group of actors who are prepared to act their butts off in front of a camera, especially Leonardo DiCaprio, who has sad-clown-face the entire movie. If I find myself at issue with it, it's that while there are very few scenes that are irrelevant enough to trim out, the film feels like it's repeating itself quite a bit as it goes on. It's trying to be a rolling ball of evolving tension, but it felt that it also laid all its cards on the table early on and it has nothing left. The film's sudden abrupt blurts of violence stop being effective after five minutes and it all blurs together after a while, because after you've suddenly shot a mother in front of a baby in your opening scene, it's hard to go anywhere from there. I was almost more jarred when scenes didn't have people abruptly getting shot in the head. The concluding investigation and trial is a welcome change of pace, bringing about both John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser out of nowhere to just show up for Marty Scorsese cred. The movie is an interesting watch in spite of its intimidating girth that does threaten to derail, telling a frustrating story of a well-off minority group that still finds itself preyed upon and marginalized by the greed of rich white men. I liked a lot of what Scorsese did with it. Just buckle up, because it also demands you spend a sixth of your day with it. I mean, you could watch Dicks: The Musical twice instead and it'll probably be more enjoyable.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zkKjkS0zltnoT54l_zvwHYHiZuODPr5nCfM41Jqz8s0X5ACcoD6yuMxCHxKofq5xsi7DS0t__BicV1NIkNJ5wLPEApxTZz1hgwexwUQZU3yoVa75uow4CUA4s0fu7e3d5Y7aZ0XcXVCciD4UAOLKrs8OGkK0bHyuxNS1IamkO4K6Svjcz4BqF6ec0qPH/s1500/MV5BNzM2YjNhODUtZThlYS00MmMxLWJmNjMtZDNjMGMzN2EzMzU2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zkKjkS0zltnoT54l_zvwHYHiZuODPr5nCfM41Jqz8s0X5ACcoD6yuMxCHxKofq5xsi7DS0t__BicV1NIkNJ5wLPEApxTZz1hgwexwUQZU3yoVa75uow4CUA4s0fu7e3d5Y7aZ0XcXVCciD4UAOLKrs8OGkK0bHyuxNS1IamkO4K6Svjcz4BqF6ec0qPH/s320/MV5BNzM2YjNhODUtZThlYS00MmMxLWJmNjMtZDNjMGMzN2EzMzU2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />The Other Zoey</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Comedy, Romance</div><div>Director: Sara Zandieh</div><div>Starring: Josephine Langford, Drew Starkey, Archie Renaux, Mallori Johnson, Andie MacDowell, Patrick Fabian, Heather Graham</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E6_44dk9vc8" width="320" youtube-src-id="E6_44dk9vc8"></iframe></div><br />Have romcoms developed a post-Scream meta that horror movies developed in the late-90s, where the only way for it to be okay that you're making a horror movie is if you point out how stupid horror movies are while doing it? I don't know, it seems like a lot of romcoms lately play this card, where they establish that romcoms suck by the main character then go through the motions of a romcoms...for irony...I...guess?</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, The Other Zoey is one of those. A woman who thinks traditional romance is nonsense finds herself the cause of a soccer player's accident which leaves him with partial amnesia...and he believes her to be his girlfriend, because she has the same name as her. Not wanting to shock him because of his concussion, she plans to come clean to his family, until she finds herself attracted to his cousin and continues the ruse to get closer to him. This being a meta-romcom, I'll leave it to you to guess who she falls in love with halfway through. The premise is really, <i>really</i> dumb, something that's needlessly complicated from the getgo simply because one person stutters with honesty and constantly makes bad choices. Like a <i>lot</i> of bad choices. Like so many bad choices that even of they aren't intentionally malicious, they most certainly are. And while farce comedy often does rely on a character who is dishonest to a degree, to work they need to also be a whirlwind of event that makes honesty not that simple. The Other Zoey never finds that. The title Zoey continues on the journey of this movie that she always has a backdoor out of, and she has nobody to blame but herself. She's a character who absolutely does not deserve the romcom "just kiss" happy ending, because while she shows remorse foe her actions, she doesn't actually have a repercussion for them. But logic doesn't always apply to romcoms, which sometimes just exist to be a series of awkward moments of sexual tension. There is a cuteness to the movie that's hard to deny, but the main conflict is so disdainful that it sours it. If the film had found a way to make it less driven by greed and lust, and something more beyond her control to make her actions less vain and terrible. Cute can only go so far if it's not likeable.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4is__yo9z8ohvwOBlXAO_kPCKqH2OTlwb8eViLL8C8anKm-fsNClgFMn6cammIzVaiiBJi_qg2ZSwGIJswuXSbpey8paBIIRls7vq9utF1UIIjFhocj-oVcil5V5a-prcw9vyQgZ4yVsNZJKKkAz_o5mb-rWVRu7HqPJkzJM22_q0bzKyl6ROdzBa_00/s1464/MV5BNTY1YTVjNDYtNzVmZi00YmUyLWFlNzMtMDFlZGNmYWI5M2E0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1464" data-original-width="976" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4is__yo9z8ohvwOBlXAO_kPCKqH2OTlwb8eViLL8C8anKm-fsNClgFMn6cammIzVaiiBJi_qg2ZSwGIJswuXSbpey8paBIIRls7vq9utF1UIIjFhocj-oVcil5V5a-prcw9vyQgZ4yVsNZJKKkAz_o5mb-rWVRu7HqPJkzJM22_q0bzKyl6ROdzBa_00/s320/MV5BNTY1YTVjNDYtNzVmZi00YmUyLWFlNzMtMDFlZGNmYWI5M2E0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY3ODkyNDkz._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Soul Mates</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Genre: Thriller, Romance</div><div>Director: Mark Gantt</div><div>Starring: Annie Ilonzeh, Charlie Weber, Neal McDonough</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hJHBoFbChdE" width="320" youtube-src-id="hJHBoFbChdE"></iframe></div><br />It's Love Connection meets Saw in this odd thriller that wants you to fall in love or die. Two strangers find themselves chained together in a labyrinth of love and death, as they go from one game to another designed as some satanic dating game, led through each by a mysterious Chuck Woolrey type host played by Neal McDonough, who I'm sure was well paid for a day's worth of work. There are a lot of moving parts in this movie designed to jolt and shock, but the movie is a puzzle that never quite comes together trying to barrel through its runtime to mask how little everything makes sense as it goes. The thing about a Saw movie is that the rules are sometimes cryptic but they're there. In Soul Mates, they're obtuse to the point that when each round ends, I'm still questioning exactly what exactly the characters were supposed to do. And even if you see the bonding experience that the movie is going for, the events are just so unfair that even if these two did fall in love, they'd just wind up bitter toward each other for the rest of their lives because of this bullshit. Like decades of couples counseling that doesn't work leading up to the bitterest divorce you can imagine. The movie does the whole "explaining the entire plot" climax, but it still doesn't fix the aesthetic choices. Soul Mates might have been better served if it went lighter, less visceral and maybe a bit cheesier, utilizing the romance angle for a frillier production design that fits the "dating" theme. Something to give it a personality, because all the basement corridors and cobwebs aren't doing it any favors. Maybe if it were less influenced by Saw and more by Escape Room, pushing less gory death for nameless characters that we know next to nothing about and concentrated on death traps that centered on the characters this story revolves around, it might have worked. But there is a quirkiness to the story that might create a cult following for it, but it doesn't work well enough to break free into a wider audience.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPegLyI1WsKwlRmAwBQhuXK6cqJ4joPbNaKwxfQROUriz4dc7ThQZKA0Fmz7VUkjEkMv3bEI4VEmZ9FPwPyja1GV7tmxD6eE4SLYxGlNgCgfDGtLGxlIvGXMjZA36synNlLHV_srHbyRA1YE1l3GdDjD6VxYprpS2OpNIgMTkS9HJKCEs9G4NxAjbjIsUB/s3000/MV5BM2RlN2FjMjQtNmEwOS00OTRiLWEyNTEtMTlkYzQ2ZTFjNWVkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzQyMDgzOTU@._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPegLyI1WsKwlRmAwBQhuXK6cqJ4joPbNaKwxfQROUriz4dc7ThQZKA0Fmz7VUkjEkMv3bEI4VEmZ9FPwPyja1GV7tmxD6eE4SLYxGlNgCgfDGtLGxlIvGXMjZA36synNlLHV_srHbyRA1YE1l3GdDjD6VxYprpS2OpNIgMTkS9HJKCEs9G4NxAjbjIsUB/s320/MV5BM2RlN2FjMjQtNmEwOS00OTRiLWEyNTEtMTlkYzQ2ZTFjNWVkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzQyMDgzOTU@._V1_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Night of the Hunted</b></div><div><b>⭐</b>1/2</div><div>Streaming On: Shudder</div><div>Genre: Thriller</div><div>Director: Franck Khalfoun</div><div>Starring: Camille Rowe</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4c8knW1U2Vc" width="320" youtube-src-id="4c8knW1U2Vc"></iframe></div><br />You know why Michael Myers is a great antagonist? Because he has no motivation. He just is. He has a thing that he does and he doesn't talk so he can't catfish people into the question of why. Night of the Hunted is a movie that is fascinated with both a motivation of a killer and the lack of motivation being apparent, intertwining it so thematically within its story that it suffers because of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film feels like a movie made by people who had access to a gas station convenience store and decided to film a movie in it, but since Kevin Smith already made Clerks, they decided to do a thriller instead (possibly a decision made while high and watching Phone Booth). So they made a movie about a woman trapped in a convenience store with a sniper outside. The movie starts so well, with some interesting character moments and shock sequences, with cute little touches such as a billboard outside that says "GodIsNowHere," all as one word so it can also be read as "God Is Nowhere" if you look at it differently. The movie gets significantly weaker the moment it gives the sniper dialogue, who communicates with the lead via walkie talkie, who comes off as a redneck so drunk that he probably couldn't see straight enough to fire a sniper rifle adequately. He does not shut up during the entire movie, tossing around so much pissant word salad "philosophy" that it turns the mind into Jell-O. And she has conversations with him that are seemingly meant to be meaningful, but I'm like stop. Why are you saying anything to this jackass? The only words that need to be said to him are "Fuck you," because it doesn't matter <i>why </i>he's doing this, he's just an asshole.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the weird thing is...I think the movie agrees with me...maybe? The ending is interesting, because the movie seems to leave the viewer with the message that it doesn't matter why people do horrific things. All that matters is that they've done horrific things, and that's contemptible. It's not wrong, but this wasn't the way to deliver that message. A better option might have been to have the lead to try and talk him down and try to understand him, only to receive minimal in return. Instead it's a movie that keeps yammering pseudo-babble that just wears the viewer down when it should be ramping up excitement. If the people who made it had trimmed the fat and made a simple short film with this concept, this probably could have been pretty good. Padded up with this crap just makes its good points paltry.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Dumb Money</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-35.html">The Equalizer 3</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">A Haunting in Venice</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div>The Nightmare Before Christmas ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Saw X</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-41.html">Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour</a> ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (probably)</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Digital</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Saw X</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/01/cinema-playground-journal-week-2-my.html">EO</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-30.html">Haunted Mansion</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-32.html">The Last Voyage of the Demeter</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/04/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-15.html">The Lost Weekend: A Love Story</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/03/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-10.html">No Bears</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/08/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-31.html">Shortcomings</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z_T0o5uNrlY" width="320" youtube-src-id="Z_T0o5uNrlY"></iframe></div></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7184262465250708130.post-24309153190772267252023-10-16T07:38:00.000-06:002023-10-16T07:38:42.733-06:00Cinema Playground Journal 2023: Week 41 (My Cinema Playground)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5SMctFkyNN4BXqk9iqylUYoGGEHDXnQ-OGYAFQe9qm0PsqnKXZjLIhbXdXPZVrID3ir48fyd7U_ktWhSmJDZCgxKks2TML9d3IFjbP2v4WqQ7mSEUmQvJ3G4LOSkKPgJYojY-2ofbhQvyFQpGda_nDGMmnuGQmy4CfSETxADgpjYLOrH4REzMBYmfpry/s1470/MV5BMTU1Y2EzYTQtNDE2Zi00YmY0LTlhOTMtNjA1NzVlZTczMTFlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5SMctFkyNN4BXqk9iqylUYoGGEHDXnQ-OGYAFQe9qm0PsqnKXZjLIhbXdXPZVrID3ir48fyd7U_ktWhSmJDZCgxKks2TML9d3IFjbP2v4WqQ7mSEUmQvJ3G4LOSkKPgJYojY-2ofbhQvyFQpGda_nDGMmnuGQmy4CfSETxADgpjYLOrH4REzMBYmfpry/s320/MV5BMTU1Y2EzYTQtNDE2Zi00YmY0LTlhOTMtNjA1NzVlZTczMTFlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />Sorry<b> </b>to disappoint everyone, but I will not be seeing the Taylor Swift concert movie. I have nothing against Taylor Swift, I just had no desire to sit in a room with screaming teenage girls to watch a filmed concert that I'm not in the demographic for. It's best for everyone if I just stay home. Four stars, probably. I'm sure it's great if it's your thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Taylor Swift dominated the multiplex and it was even picked up by my art house, as well, so this is the rare weekend where I didn't go to the theater. I had plans to make up for it with a beefy streaming section, but my internet went total dumpster fire this weekend, which made streaming limited. The one app I can usually get to work is Shudder (and even that crashed a few times and I had to watch sections on my phone, that's how bad it was), so enjoy this duo of horror movies from the horror app.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Netflix & Chill</u></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWV1rp16opIpvQXzEb_d4sWE6Tkpj5CaIVhVKlXALei4k2aN9a8XGND7Tw2oR56iqKA34t0wRgJA8ZaGzBVYptF-h3TAnMUYLbTVPkqooIb6vDXOkQ5pfEo4URk1EhA_dH4eYv7B2uWQ0wLi0kD-ZwGKENpx0Buzpui4zWjwtoTlGjLechRedXV7SyaWm/s1500/MV5BM2U0N2E0OTQtOGJlMC00ZDRmLTgwZmItMWZlMjRkNjM2ZmU2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTYyMDYxNzY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWV1rp16opIpvQXzEb_d4sWE6Tkpj5CaIVhVKlXALei4k2aN9a8XGND7Tw2oR56iqKA34t0wRgJA8ZaGzBVYptF-h3TAnMUYLbTVPkqooIb6vDXOkQ5pfEo4URk1EhA_dH4eYv7B2uWQ0wLi0kD-ZwGKENpx0Buzpui4zWjwtoTlGjLechRedXV7SyaWm/s320/MV5BM2U0N2E0OTQtOGJlMC00ZDRmLTgwZmItMWZlMjRkNjM2ZmU2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTYyMDYxNzY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />The Puppetman</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Streaming On: Shudder</div><div>Genre: Horror</div><div>Director: Brandon Christensen</div><div>Starring: Allison Gorske, Kio Cyr, Angel Prater</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Owv4PGJ6V0k" width="320" youtube-src-id="Owv4PGJ6V0k"></iframe></div><br />A man murders his wife claiming to have been controlled by some unknown force. As he sits in prison awaiting his death sentence, his daughter begins seeing the people around her acting beyond their control as well. The Puppetman feels like a bland Nightmare on Elm Street retread, only with less imagination, for a good long while, though if you stick with it, you might find yourself saying "Okay, that wasn't too bad." The problem with this movie is that its primary twist is so heavily telegraphed throughout the first half of the film that as a viewer I found myself counting the minutes until the characters finally realized it. Once the movie stops playing coy, it starts becoming more spirited: Death scenes start to become more creative (one prolonged one where a girl holds her face into a fire is genuinely disturbing) and some of the film's subsequent twists are more interesting. After about an hour, the movie becomes a full-length feature of the Twilight Zone episode It's a Good Life, and it's actually pretty fun. The Puppetman plays with some interesting ideas, though it hasn't quite embellished them adequately enough to say this script was ready to be filmed. It takes too long to get to an obvious conclusion, but you can see what it's trying to accomplish.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-6PRXH-20ifiqRipek9_hu4YnM0cK8MHcHP8ecOStzFN2fn08nzAv7jXDUH-rV-aIE_uCS3dy7rS19jyvwu1S-K4TUZzWkTXhCDr9c_nDnErqK9M-aazJ7CnVaKEqwIHqJvI6L6OrMq57THgKk7j1RX8P3RgUBx98gEX51vKE-p9SIaC4O3yjvg3B4ZE/s281/MV5BN2M5NGQ3OWItMTRmZi00Y2M1LTlkMjMtYzVmMDE5MGJhZTA2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDYyODMxOTc@._V1_QL75_UX190_CR0,2,190,281_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="190" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-6PRXH-20ifiqRipek9_hu4YnM0cK8MHcHP8ecOStzFN2fn08nzAv7jXDUH-rV-aIE_uCS3dy7rS19jyvwu1S-K4TUZzWkTXhCDr9c_nDnErqK9M-aazJ7CnVaKEqwIHqJvI6L6OrMq57THgKk7j1RX8P3RgUBx98gEX51vKE-p9SIaC4O3yjvg3B4ZE/s1600/MV5BN2M5NGQ3OWItMTRmZi00Y2M1LTlkMjMtYzVmMDE5MGJhZTA2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDYyODMxOTc@._V1_QL75_UX190_CR0,2,190,281_.jpg" width="190" /></a></div><br />V/H/S/85</b></div><div><b>⭐⭐</b></div><div>Streaming On: Shudder</div><div>Genre: Horror, Anthology</div><div>Director: David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Natasha Kermani, Mike P. Nelson</div><div>Starring: Jordon Belfi</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W8LXY8u9MFY" width="320" youtube-src-id="W8LXY8u9MFY"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>V/H/S is one of my blind spot horror franchises. I was always aware it was a thing, I just never tapped into it, other than watching spin-off film Kids vs. Aliens earlier this year for this blog. Now ten years later, we're on the sixth main installment (not including two expansion spin-off films), and I'm finally taking the plunge. V/H/S is a horror anthology franchise with each segment told in the "found footage" style, retro'd up to look like a VHS recording (like Paranormal Activity 3 or Skinamarink). Usually, it's one of those franchises that asks up-and-coming horror directors to contribute something and get their name out there, though heavy hitters will probably join in too. The biggest name in V/H/S/85 is Scott Derrickson, who is kind of a big deal, having helmed Sinister, The Black Phone, and even the megabudget Marvel film Doctor Strange. Other names I'm familiar with are David Bruckner, who directed the excellent The Night House, and Mike P. Nelson (NO NOT THAT MIKE NELSON), who directed the lackluster Wrong Turn remake/re-imagining. Gigi Saul Guerrero and Natasha Kermani are both entirely new to me, though the former seems to be primarily a TV director and the latter has an under-my-radar film on Shudder called Lucky that apparently is very good.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of the segments featured, Derrickson's is the most well-rounded, featuring a cop who is receiving pre-recordings of murders in the mail days before they happen. It's an interesting idea, and while it could use some embellishment, the segment does it enough justice. Nelson is given a two-part segment centering around a group of friends under attack by cultists, which has slight frustrations with ambiguity (which are likely intentional) but is an enjoyable one-two punch of macabre nonsense. I also took a liking to Bruckner's wraparound bumpers, which are like an Alien Autopsy special about a mutating being named Rory. Guerroro's segment, featuring TV and rescue crews in the middle of an earthquake finding horror underground, has great style to it, but it felt like there was too much going on and not enough of it coming together. Kermani's is probably the least of the group, featuring a woman searching Lawnmower Man style virtual reality for a godlike being, which feels like it should be a hit-and-run incident of horror that just takes too long to get going. Neat effects work, though. While I was not too impressed with the anthology as a whole, personally I find the format works well for the found footage. Creating a narrative in found footage is tricky because you have to juggle the plot beats while justifying the storytelling device, which can become a burden in long form. In short bursts, the stories rarely have a chance to become problematic in presentation. They can feel anemic in certain areas, but there is a beauty in their lack of detail, seeing bursts of horror coming into being during these small snippets of one's life story that are being recorded. I think there is an endearment to that idea that has allowed V/H/S to survive, even if it probably isn't all that impressive. I felt this collection was lackluster myself, but I'm almost interested in checking out a few more once I get a chance.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><u>Movies Still Playing At My Theater</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Barbie</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">The Creator</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Dumb Money</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html?m=0http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinemorina-playground-journal-2023-week.html">A Haunting in Venice</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-29.html">Oppenheimer</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/10/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-39.html">Saw X</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Streaming</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">Expend4bles</a> ⭐⭐</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-38.html">It Lives Inside</a> ⭐⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/07/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-28.html">Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One</a> ⭐⭐⭐</div><div><br /></div><div><u>New To Physical</u></div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-22.html">The Boogeyman</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><a href="http://mst3krifftrax.blogspot.com/2023/06/cinema-playground-journal-2023-week-23.html">Transformers: Rise of the Beasts</a> ⭐⭐1/2</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Coming Soon!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7cx9nCHsemc" width="320" youtube-src-id="7cx9nCHsemc"></iframe></div>David Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17102697949653675794noreply@blogger.com0